By: Abdull-Azeez Ahmed Kadir Nigeria’s electoral system reform is progressing. It has made some positive dramatic moves up the ladder of democratic tenets since 1999 when Nigeria returned to civil rule. But there are pundits who believe the progress should have been faster than what we have witnessed thus far. You may want to disagree with them. But the recent debate on the amendment of the electoral act, especially clause 52(2) of the bill that prescribes that the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC might adopt electronic voting and transmission of…
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Senate exposes how INEC, Army, NSA, others collected N76bn from Accountant-General ‘s office illegally
The Upper Chamber of the National Assembly has exposed how the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), Nigerian Army, Office of National Security Adviser and others collected N76 billion from the Office of Accountant-General of the Federation, (OAGF), illegally. The revelation was contained in the 2015 Auditor-General report, which was submitted by the Senate Public Accounts Committee chaired by Senator Mathew Urhoghide, and approved by the Senate. The funds were drawn from 25 percent Husked Rice Levy, 1% Comprehension Import Supervision Scheme (CISS) Pool levy, 15% wheat Grain Levy and 10%…
Read MoreElectronic transmission of election results: ‘NASS has created three electoral bodies’ – Shehu Sani
Former senator, Shehu Sani, has stated that the National Assembly has created three electoral bodies, which is INEC, NCC and themselves by its rejection of the electronic transmission of election results. The former Senator, who represented Kaduna-Central in the 8th Senate between 2015 and 2019, stated this in a radio current affairs programme in, Osogbo, Oaun State on Friday. Sani, who expressed disappointment at the turn of events noted that it was sad, unfortunate and tragic that the National Assembly can be so divided on a very important issue. According…
Read MoreCVR: INEC announces new date for physical registration
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed a new date for the commencement of the physical registration of voters and the scheduled appointments by online registrants in the ongoing Continuous Voters Registration (CVR). INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Festus Okoye, said this yesterday in Abuja, at the end of the commission’s management meeting. “With the declaration of Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st July 2021, as public holidays by the federal government, the date scheduled for the commencement of physical registration has to be…
Read MoreSenate rejects Lauretta Onochie as INEC commissioner
The Senate has rejected the nomination of presidential aide, Lauretta Onochie, as a commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The rejection yesterday followed the massive outcry that has trailed her nomination, especially from members of the opposition and civil society organisations who claim she is a card-carrying member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Recall that Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, on Monday rejected the nomination of Onochie as the national commissioner of INEC, accusing the APC of plotting to rig the 2023 general elections. President Muhammadu Buhari had…
Read MoreCSOs protest at NASS, demand INEC independence, inclusion of e-voting in Electoral Act
…As Reps Southern caucus insist on electronic transmission of election result A Coalition of Civil Society Organisations, (CSOs), under the aegis of ‘Alliance of CSOs for Expression of Electoral and Democratic Space’, yesterday stormed the National Assembly, protesting the exclusion of some provisions, such as electronic voting, financial autonomy for the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), and protection of people with disabilities, in the new Electoral Act. The aggrieved protesters were armed with placards, with inscriptions such as: “SaveOurElections #NigeriansDeserveFreeAndFairElection” and so on. The concerns raised by the CSOs followed the…
Read MoreCVR online registration: INEC to prosecute hackers
The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), has said it will not hesitate to prosecute anyone who tries to hack its website in the course of the online Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise. The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Cross River, Dr. Emmanuel Hart, stated this yesterday, in Calabar, while speaking to newsmen after day one of the CVR exercise, which started on Monday nationwide. He said that the Commission would apply all relevant aspects of the Law to ensure the prosecution of any registered offender. “INEC will not hesitate to…
Read More2023: INEC launches online portal for voter registration
The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has finally launched an online portal for Nigerians to register as voters. The portal will go live on Monday when the online registration is scheduled to commence. The electoral umpire stopped the continuous voter registration in August 2018, about six months before the last elections. As of then, the total number of registered voters in Nigeria stood at 84 million, just 42 percent of the country’s population. At least 11 million voters were yet to collect their permanent voter cards (PVCs) when the Commission…
Read MorePDP wins Kaduna Assembly by-election – INEC
…As APC wins in Jigawa The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has declared Usman Baba of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), as the winner of Saturday’s by-election for Sabon-Gari constituency in the Kaduna State House of Assembly. Announcing the election result in Zaria, the returning officer, Dr. Mohammed Musa, says the PDP candidate polled a total of 9,113 votes to defeat his closest rival, Musa Musa of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), who polled 7,404 votes to come second. Other candidates who participated in the election include Anas Abdullahi of…
Read MoreINEC unveils 56,872 more polling units across Nigeria
…Announces dates for Ekiti, Osun gubernatorial elections…Says it’s ready for June 19 Kaduna by-election The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), has announced the addition of 56,872 more polling units in various parts of the country. INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who made the announcement yesterday at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, noted that the move was in line with the resolve to expand voters’ access to polling units. Prof. Yakubu disclosed that INEC has also made efforts to relocate many polling units from inappropriate places to public buildings accessible to…
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