Stakeholders on electoral issues, have referred to as for the unbundling of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, into completely different companies to make sure efficiency within the electoral processes.
They made the decision at a Round Table and Public Presentation of Policy Papers on Citizens’ Rights and Impact of Insecurity on Elections organised by The Electoral Hub in collaboration with the Open Society Foundation, OSF, Africa in Abuja on Tuesday.
The chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matter, Adebayo Balogun, stated that INEC was saddled with plenty of obligations so tackling electoral violence was an added burden, thus the necessity to unbundle the fee.
Mr Balogun stated that there have been some obligations that wanted to be faraway from INEC and permit different current or newly created companies to deal with in order that INEC could be extra environment friendly.
He stated that INEC’s duty on publicity to enlighten voters may be moved to the National Orientation Agency, NOA.
“We are working on a lot of things but the one that actually relates to what we have here today is unbundling INEC to remove the aspect that has to do with Electoral offenses and violence and to bring it on a separate agency.
“So we are pushing up for a bill for the establishment of the electoral offenses commission and tribunal that will be able to focus on issues that have to do with violence, vote buying and any act of offenses that happens before, during after election.
“This is because we believe that INEC is overburdened with so much responsibilities. They should be able to concentrate on electoral matters and let other areas be done by some other agencies,” he stated.
Mr Balogun stated that with the creation of an electoral offenses company,it can be capable to deal with the areas that needed to do with violence including that the company would embody numerous safety companies working to see how they might vogue a approach out to deal with the problem.
“We need a professional body when we are talking about fighting security because dealing with insecurity is a professional thing and INEC should not be saddled with that.
“So we should bring professionals in that field to look at it and come up with solutions so that they can be more efficient,” he stated.
Mr Balogun stated that the short repair towards violence in Saturday’s election was for stakeholders to speak to their members of the family in Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo and let peace reign.
A former INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, stated that addressing electoral violence was a collective work as a result of it was apparent that Nigeria’s elections had been bedeviled with insecurity brought on by electoral violence.
Mr Jega stated that it was additionally worthy to notice that insecurity and election violence was disruptive to the social and financial power of the nation, so the purpose was to get rid of it throughout elections .
“All efforts need to be focused in terms of what needs to be done in order to minimise drastically if not totally to eliminate violence in the conduct of our elections.
“We want all hands to be on deck and for us to continue to make progress from each election we conduct. We all should come out and ensure that this becomes a reality.
“We are hopeful that the National Assembly would take a look at all the submissions from all the papers presented and make reasonable recommendations for the electoral Act amendment,” he stated.
Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman, stated the fee was prepared to stick to each regulation enacted to finish electoral violence within the nation.
Mr Yakubu, represented by Mohammed Kuna, his particular adviser, stated INEC had been progressive since its creation.
“The commission is ready to welcome new innovations, INEC since inception, has always welcomed new discoveries, and initiatives just like the introduction of BVAS and PVCs,” he stated.
The convener of the spherical desk, the director, Electoral Hub, Princess Hamman-Obels, stated the challenge was initiated with funding from OSF, Africa, to help INEC and the electoral course of on election safety by the manufacturing of three well-researched coverage papers on the affect of insecurity on elections.
Ms Hamman-Obels stated the purpose was to safeguard each the institutional integrity of INEC and the integrity of the electoral course of in addition to make sure that elections had been peaceable, and credible.
She stated that the challenge sought to supply enhanced information and understanding of the safety points and their multidimensional implications on elections.
“It offers deep and insightful analyses of the security situation in Nigeria and its adverse impacts on elections.
“This entails a rigorous examination of the challenges, vulnerabilities, and potential threats that could compromise the integrity of our electoral process.
“Additionally, we endeavour to map security challenges and how they affected the preparations of INEC for the 2023 elections,” she stated.
Ms Hamman-Obels stated {that a} detailed understanding of those would assist election duty-bearers like INEC to attract up tailor-made methods that acknowledge the distinctive wants of the nation.
She stated the research culminated in drawing up actionable suggestions for safety and security throughout elections.
NAN
