• CSOs, presidential candidates pass vote of confidence in Yakubu, reject EU report
• Warn of alleged plot to compromise BVAS at off-season polls
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said, contrary to insinuations, it did not receive direct cash support from international development partners to conduct the 2023 general election.
The commission said, rather, their support was indirect, through civil society organisations and implementing partners.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the clarification at a meeting with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on review of the 2023 general election, in Abuja, yesterday.
Yakubu said the clarification was necessary to address impressions that the commission received huge sums of money from development partners.
Recall that prior to the polls, development partners, like European Union (EU), United States Institutes, International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) supported activities of the commission and CSOs, through capacity-building workshops, technical advice and voter education.
The INEC boss said: “It is appropriate for the commission to express its appreciation to CSOs and development partners for their enormous support to the commission during the 2023 general election. This came in the form of technical advice, civic and voter education, organisation of meetings and capacity-building workshops as well as publication of documents.
“However, it is necessary to seize this opportunity to correct the impression in some sections of the public that the commission received huge sums of money from development partners for the election.
“On the contrary, and for the avoidance of doubt, the commission did not receive any direct funding or cash support from international development partners. Rather, their support was totally indirect through civil society organisations and implementing partners working on elections.”
He added: “Indeed, it has been a longstanding policy of the current commission not to receive direct funding and cash transfers from sources other than the Federal Government of Nigeria. We hope that we shall continue to have this type of productive partnership with civil society and development partners in the future.”
This came as a coalition of CSOs, presidential candidates in the general election, chairmen of political parties and ethnic youth leaders, passed a vote of confidence in Yakubu.
The coalition, under the auspices of the Civil Society Central Coordinating Council, also rejected a report of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM, saying it falls below the standard expected of credible observers.
It further raised the alarm on an alleged plot by some politicians to compromise the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine during upcoming governorship polls in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi states.
The coalition made the observations at a one-day National Roundtable on Comprehensive Review of the 2023 General Elections, held in Abuja, yesterday.
Members present include: National Chairman, Action Alliance, Kenneth Udeze; National Chairman, Action Peoples Party (APP), Uchenna Nnadi; Executive Director, Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), Faith Nwadishi; National Chairman, National Rescue Movement (NRM), Chief Isaac Udeh; National Chairman, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Dan Nwanyanwu, and National Chairman, Accord, Alhaji Lawal Nalado.
Others are: Chairman, Partners for Electoral Reforms, Ezenwa Nwagwu; presidential candidate of APP, Charles Nnadi; presidential candidate of NRM, Rev. Johnson Osakwe; vice presidential candidate of Boot Party, Usman Mustapha Turaki, and representatives of Arewa Consultative Youth Movement, Ohanaeze Youth Movement, and South South Youth Council of Nigeria.
The coalition submitted that after analysing pre-election, election day and post-election outcomes, INEC, under Yakubu, performed well.
The members said it was unfair to attack the INEC boss, who, according to them, put everything on the line to “push through technological innovations and reforms, cleaned up the voter register, prosecuting and disciplining staff as high as a state Resident Electoral Commissioner, and insisted that BVAS must be used for the election.”
They said: “The roundtable reviewed the pre-election processes by political parties and agreed that political parties and political actors were responsible for a vast majority of tension and concerns about the polls, and INEC conducted itself creditably in this area.
“The national roundtable reviewed the preparations and pre-election logistics deployment by INEC and agreed that the commission was punctual in meeting up and completing its activity checklist on schedule, including logistics deployment of non-sensitive and sensitive materials.
“We also reviewed the modus of collation and announcement of results and decried the wrongful use of armed security personnel to compromise the electoral process at collation centres and call for introduction of technology in this aspect.”
The members added: “The national roundtable, having analysed the pre-election, election day and post-election outcomes, and without prejudice to ongoing petitions at tribunals, gives INEC a pass mark and unanimously passes a vote of confidence in the chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, for his outstanding conduct of the 2023 general election, and condemns in the strongest of terms attacks on his personality and calls for his removal from office.”
Guardian
