By Daniel Peters
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has Inducted ten new Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) against the background of forthcoming governorship elections in Edo State in the next 81 days and Ondo State in the 137 days.
The induction is an opportunity to review performance, reappraise processes, discuss innovations, engage service providers, interface with lawmakers on critical areas of reform and explore new frontiers in our continuous effort to improve organisational capacity for better service delivery.
The Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu stated this in his address at the induction retreat held at Marriot Hotel, Lagos, pointing out that the retreat is not just about an induction but a global practice.
He explained that so far, about five retreats have been organized for RECs since 2022, that is for election logistics and 2023 general election review.
“Today, we are holding another retreat to induct 10 new RECs: nine of them were sworn-in on 12th December 2023 and one of them on 30th January, 2024.
“In a matter of weeks after the swearing-in, many of the new RECs were saddled with the task of conducting re-run elections in a few locations in some constituencies or bye-elections in entire constituencies.
“Tday’s retreat is holding in addition, there are five pending bye-elections for Babura/Garki Federal Constituency of Jigawa State and four State constituencies: Khana II of Rivers State, Bagwai/Shanono of Kano State, Zaria Kewaye of Kaduna State and Ganye of Adamawa State.
“There are four major elections before the next General Election in 2027. The Anambra State Governorship election next year will be followed in 2026 by the Ekiti and Osun State Governorship elections and, I must remind you in case you forget, the Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“Therefore, as we think, reflect and innovate for credible elections, we are also instantly implementing the reforms and innovations that we can introduce by administrative action. Since election is a process governed by law, we also plan to intensify our engagement with the National Assembly for activities that require legal reform.
“As new RECs, we should focus on how we can acquaint ourselves more with the processes and procedures of the Commission.
“For the veterans, we should leverage on our privileged field experience to contribute on how to mitigate recurring challenges in the areas of pre-election and post-election litigations, operational issues especially in the area of logistics, improvement on voter education processes, issues of strategic communication and combating fake news, misinformation and disinformation as well as inclusivity in the electoral process,among others.
“In a well organised retreat such as this one, there is always something new to learn. Upon reflection, there is also new experience to share with colleagues. However, always bear in mind that the cardinal objective is improved service delivery” he stressed“.
Prof Yakubu express the Commission’s deepest appreciation to the Development Associates Inc. (DAI) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) for supporting the retreat in particular and many other activities of the Commission in general.
