By Emmanuel Oloniruha
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged the National
Assembly to expedite action on the ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act.
Chairman of INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, made the call in his remarks at the
regular quarterly consultative meeting of the commission with the civil society
organisations (CSOs) on Wednesday in Abuja
Amupitan called for the CSOs’ support in urging the national assembly to do the
needful on time.
According to him, early amendment of the Act is critical in the commission’s
preparations for the 2027 general elections, including the release of the timetable
and schedule of activities for the elections.
Amupitan said that while the commission already concluded the timetable for the
2027 general elections, it was still awaiting the conclusion of the amendment of the
Electoral Act.
“Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 empowers the commission to issue a
notice of election not later than 360 days before the date of the poll.
“While the National Assembly is currently working on amendments to the
Electoral Act, the commission has made its submission as required.
“We are mindful of the growing public interest and anticipation surrounding the
release of the timetable.
“We wish to assure political parties and the Nigerian public that the timetable and
schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections will be released in full
compliance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as
amended), and the Electoral Act, 2022.
“Having said that, we seek your support in urging the national assembly to
expedite action on the ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act.
“We have hesitated a little bit because we have the timetable already, but there are
some proposed amendments that will affect the timetable. But, if the process is
delayed any further, we may have to go to the extant laws,” he said.
On the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area council elections, Amupitan said that
INEC would hold a mock accreditation on Saturday, Feb. 7 in 289 selected polling
units across the six area councils.
He disclosed that 83 domestic and five foreign observers had been accredited for
the polls, which would involve 1,680,315 registered voters across 2,822 polling
units in the six area councils of the FCT.
The INEC chairman also said that the election would be contested by 570
candidates in 68 constituencies for the positions of chairmen and vice-chairmen,
and 62 councilors made up of 10 wards each for five area councils and 12 wards
for the Abuja Municipal Area Council.
He urged the CSOs to help mobilise FCT residents to go out and collect their
permanent voter cards (PVCs) in the ongoing distribution that would end on Feb.
10 in FCT, saying: “We do not want anyone to be disenfranchised.”
He also urged the CSOs to monitor the activities of the political parties, especially
their campaigns and general conduct in the election.
“Let’s sensitise the public, particularly political party members, to refrain from
hate speech, vote buying, misinformation, disinformation and violence during
campaigns and to conduct their activities strictly within the framework of the law,”
he said.
Amupitan said that on INEC’s part, non-sensitive materials had been delivered and
batched at each area council, while recruitment and training of ad hoc personnel
had been concluded.
“Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devises are being configured for
accreditation and upload of results to the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal, and
sensitive materials would be delivered a day before the election,” he said.
