*Says New Election Timetable will be Based on the Amendment

By Jude Opara, Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday reiterated its hope that the National Assembly will quickly address all the contentious issues raised by President Muhammadu Buhari while declining assent to the Bill.

INEC Chairman, Prof.

Mahmood Yakubu who gave the hint while speaking at the first quarterly meeting with Political Parties said he is encouraged by the deposition of the Senate President, Dr. Ahmed Lawan who has promised to give priority attention as soon as the National Assembly returns from recess.

Yakubu equally stated that he believes that President Muhammadu Buhari will sign the Bill into law as soon as the contentious issue of Direct Primaries was removed from the document, adding that when it becomes law, the new Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 election will be based on the new law.

“On the Electoral Amendment Bill currently before the National Assembly, the Commission is encouraged by the Senate President’s assurance to give priority attention to the Bill when the National Assembly reconvenes from its recess today, and the commitment by the President to assent to the Bill as soon as the issue of mode of primaries by political parties is resolved.

 
“We look forward to a speedy passage of the Bill, which is crucial to our preparations for future elections. As soon as it is signed into law, the Commission will quickly release the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Election based on the new law.
“As we commence our first regular quarterly consultative meeting for 2022, let me seize the opportunity to congratulate those who may be attending the meeting for the first time after your party’s elective conventions.”

The INEC boss further noted that the year 2022 will be a very busy one for both the Commission and the political parties because most arrangements for the 2023 elections would be organized within the year.

He added that the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) which began in June last year has entered the third quarter with over eight million new registrants recorded. He therefore advised the party leaders to continue to encourage more Nigerians to register in order to be eligible to participate in the next general elections.

“Undoubtedly, the year 2022 is going to be a very busy year for the Commission and the political parties. The 2023 General Election is just 396 days away. All the critical preparations must be concluded this year. The Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) which commenced in June last year has entered the third quarter. As at yesterday Monday 17th January 2022, a total of 8,260,076 eligible Nigerians commenced the online pre-registration, completed the registration physically or applied for transfer to new voting locations, replacement of their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) or updated their voter information records as required by law.

 “At the moment, the Commission is undertaking the most comprehensive cleaning up of the data to ensure that only eligible citizens are added to the voters’ register for the 2023 General Election and will share our findings with Nigerians and the actual dates for the collection of the PVCs nationwide will be announced very soon. I want to request that you continue to encourage eligible voters who have not registered to do so, bearing in mind that those who had registered at any time previously need not register again.”

On the forthcoming Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) the INEC Chairman said the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will be deployed just as it was used in the last Anambra state governorship election.

“For emphasis, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will be deployed in the FCT elections which is the second major election after the Anambra Governorship election held in November last year. The 68 constituencies in the FCT (six Chairmen and 62 Councillors) covering extensive urban and rural locations sharing border with five States in the North Central and North Western parts of the country is another opportunity to pilot the efficacy of the BVAS in a different geographical, geo-political and electoral context. The same technology will be deployed in all forthcoming bye-elections across the country. For all elections going forward, Polling Unit results will be uploaded in real-time to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.”

In his remarks, the National Chairman of IPAC, Engr. Yabagi Yusuf Sani lauded the INEC Chairman for the various innovations he has been introducing to ensure that elections were free and fair.
“It is our fervent hope and prayers, that the new heights in the standards of performance by INEC will not only be sustained but, further perfected and improved upon for greater degrees of success in its conduct of future elections. We are in this regard, anticipating more superlative performance by INEC in the remaining off-season elections, beginning with the Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory and later on, the gubernatorial elections in Osun and Ekiti states.”

However, he said IPAC is not unmindful of the manifestations of incidents of hitches experienced in the Anambra state governorship election, hence the call on the Commission to take measures to rectify the observed lapses in future elections.