The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that without a secured and peaceful environment, the conduct of credible elections is imperiled.
The electoral umpire therefore called on security agencies and other stakeholders to pay attention to disruptive behaviour by some candidates and their supporters.
The INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made this call at the opening of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCESS) meeting in Abuja yesterday, ahead of the February 3 bye-elections and re-run polls.
Yakubu said the conduct of isolated elections such as bye-elections and re-run elections can be very challenging, explaining that the polls arose from the death or resignation of members of the national and state legislative houses and orders of Election Petition Appeal Tribunals respectively.
He stated that a re-run election conducted in one polling unit or a handful of polling units can be severely disrupted by thugs who know that these few locations will determine the outcome of the election.
“Arising from the reports we received from the states, concerns have been raised about the impact of the prevailing insecurity in some states on the conduct of the elections, made worse by incendiary statements by some political actors. We will present such concerns and reports at this meeting for appropriate security responses.
“What many people do not realise is that there is no election season in Nigeria any longer. Elections are held throughout the year between one general election and another. This adds to the enormous pressure on both INEC and the security agencies.
“For instance, in addition to the bye-elections and re-run elections holding next week, the Commission has also released the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the two off-cycle governorship elections in Edo State scheduled for 21st September, 2024 and Ondo State holding on 16th November, 2024.
“As required by the Electoral Act 2022, party primaries and nomination of candidates shall be done not later than 180 days before the date fixed for the elections. Accordingly, party primaries for Edo State will commence next week and end three weeks later (i.e. 1st- 24th Februar, 2024).
“For Ondo State, primaries will be held between 6th and 27th April, 2024. Our collective experience as election managers and security agencies shows that party primaries can sometimes be more acrimonious than general elections,” Yakubu stated.
He noted that the task of ICCES members was to ensure security for the elections and that, consequently, INEC had already provided to the Nigeria Police Force, as the lead agency in election security, the full information of the locations where the elections will be held.
On his part, the National Security Adviser (NSA) and co-chairman of ICCES, Nuhu Ribadu said as posited by President Bola Tinubu, security agencies are poised to prevent violence, intimidation and other security threats so as to uphold the credibility of the forthcoming elections.
