Politics
INEC Repositions For Future Challenges
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last Monday said it has started repositioning and repackaging for electoral challenges ahead.
INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, Mr Festus Okoye, said this at a four-day workshop on media monitoring for some INEC publicity officers in Abuja.
Okoye said that the commission was presently harnessing the lessons from the 2019 general election and harvesting positive recommendations aimed at improving subsequent elections.
He assured Nigerians that the commission would continue to improve on its processes and procedures.
Okoye assured the various stakeholders in the electoral process that the Commission would study and analyse all the recommendations made and positively implement them.
Speaking on the workshop, the national commissioner said its aimed at increasing understanding of INEC public officers of new issues, challenges and possibilities in the media.
Okoye added that it was also aimed at how to harness such possibilities and arrest negative perception relating to the work of the commission and build a positive image for INEC.
He said that part of the challenges faced by the commission during the 2019 general elections revolves around information management and strategic communication as well as managing public perception around the processes and procedures of the Commission.
According to him, while the commission had consistently tried its best to provide information to the media it demanded that the spokespersons for the Commission be conversant with the happening in the Commission.
The INEC national commissioner, however, commended the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) for the Media Monitoring Center it donated to the Commission.
He assured INEC partners that the Commission would make good use of the facilities at the media center to promote and enhance its image.
Okoye said that the training would equip and empower the participants with modern skills of monitoring the activities of the media, to keep the commission abreast of issues as they break or begin to trend especially on the social media.
He said that the establishment of a media monitoring center within the Commission was a step in the right direction.
Okoye urged the participants of the workshop to read widely and keep abreast of happenings in the social media.
“The Commission must study and understand the thinking of young people who constitute over 50 per cent of the registered voting population in Nigeria and what keeps them away from the polling units.
“Young persons are very active on the social media and yet have not succeeded in influencing in a significant way the pattern of voting in Nigeria.
“It is a matter of common knowledge that a large proportion of the young people are exceedingly active on the social media and take active part in debates around elections and the electoral process.
“It is our responsibility to understudy and understand the direction and perspectives of young people in relation to the electoral process and why they are very active in the social media and inactive in the voting process,” he said.
On his part, Coordination, Advisor/Electoral Administration Expert, ECES, Mr Manji Wilson, said the media monitoring centre was established for INEC following the recommendations of the European Union Observation Mission to Nigeria, 2015 and 2019.
Wilson said that ECES had procured, delivered and was currently installing hardware and software that would in a few days metamorphose into the National Media Monitoring Centre at the INEC headquarters, Annex.
“The skills and expertise you acquire from this workshop will be crucial to strengthening this center.
“Further support will be considered in due course to expand the scope of ECES interventions to the INEC Media monitoring set-up, beyond Headquarters.
Manji said that ECES was committed to strengthening and deepening the democratic process in Nigeria through the implementation of the EU-SDGN programme- Component 1.
INEC Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, said that the participants were drawn from Abuja and INEC offices in Kogi and Bayelsa states.
Osaze-Uzzi said the workshop was relevant even after the 2019 general elections, as the commission was preparing for Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections.
He said that the training would cover both conventional and social media monitoring.
The former two-term governor went down memory lane to recall how they founded the APC but were used and dumped.
In his words, “…those calling on us to join APC, we have agreed to join the APC but on clear agreement that protects and respects the interest of my party, NNPP and my political movement, Kwankwasiyya. No state where you go that you don’t have NNPP and Kwankwasiyya. We have gubernatorial candidates, senatorial candidates and others.
“We are ready to join APC under strong conditions and promises. We will not allow anyone to use us and later dump us.
“We were among the founding fathers of the APC and endured significant persecution from various security agencies while challenging the previous administration.
“Yet when the party assumed power, we received no recognition or appreciation for our sacrifices, simply because we didn’t originate from their original faction.
“We are not in a hurry to leave the NNPP; we are enjoying and have peace of mind. But if some want a political alliance that would not disappoint us like in the past, we are open to an alliance. Even if it is the PDP that realised their mistakes, let’s enter an agreement that will be made public,” Sen. Kwankwaso stated.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has dismissed long-standing claims that he once sought to extend his tenure in office, insisting he never pursued a third term.
Speaking at the Democracy Dialogue organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Accra, Ghana, Chief Obasanjo said there is no Nigerian, living or dead, who can truthfully claim he solicited support for a third term agenda.
“I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I know how to go about it. And there is no Nigerian, dead or alive, that would say I called him and told him I wanted a third term,” the former president declared.
Chief Obasanjo argued that he had proven his ability to secure difficult national goals, citing Nigeria’s debt relief during his administration as a much greater challenge than any third term ambition.
“I keep telling them that if I could get debt relief, which was more difficult than getting a third term, then if I wanted a third term, I would have got it too,” he said.
He further cautioned against leaders who overstay in power, stressing that the belief in one’s indispensability is a “sin against God.”
On his part, former President Goodluck Jonathan said any leader who failed to perform would be voted out of office if proper elections were conducted.
Describing electoral manipulation as one of the biggest threats to democracy in Africa, he said unless stakeholders come together to rethink and reform democracy, it may collapse in Africa.
He added that leaders must commit to the kind of democracy that guarantees a great future for the children where their voices matter.
He said: “Democracy in Africa continent is going through a period of strain and risk collapse unless stakeholders came together to rethink and reform it. Electoral manipulation remains one of the biggest threats in Africa.
“We in Africa must begin to look at our democracy and rethink it in a way that works well for us and our people. One of the problems is our electoral system. People manipulate the process to remain in power by all means.
“If we had proper elections, a leader who fails to perform would be voted out. But in our case, people use the system to perpetuate themselves even when the people don’t want them.
“Our people want to enjoy their freedoms. They want their votes to count during elections. They want equitable representation and inclusivity. They want good education. Our people want security. They want access to good healthcare. They want jobs. They want dignity. When leaders fail to meet these basic needs, the people become disillusioned.”
The dialogue was also attended by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto diocese of Catholic Church among others who all stressed that democracy in Africa must go beyond elections to include accountability, service, and discipline.
The Rivers State House of Assembly yesterday resumed plenary session after a six-month state of emergency imposed on the state by President Bola Tinubu elapsed on Wednesday midnight.
President Bola Tinubu had lifted the emergency rule on September 17, with the Governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state assembly asked to resume duties on September 18.
The plenary was presided over by the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, at the conference hall located within the legislative quarters in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The conference hall has served as the lawmakers’ temporary chamber since their official chamber at the assembly complex on Moscow Road was torched and later pulled down by the state government.
The outgone sole administrator of the state, Ibok-Ete Ibas, could not complete the reconstruction of the assembly complex as promised.
Recall that on March 18, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers following the prolonged political standoff between Fubara and members of the House of Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
He subsequently suspended the governor, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and lawmakers for six months and installed a sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), to manage the state’s affairs.
The decision sparked widespread controversy, with critics accusing the president of breaching the Constitution.
However, others hailed the move as a necessary and pragmatic step.
-
Maritime3 days ago
Minister Tasks Academy On Thorough-Bred Professionals
-
Maritime3 days ago
Customs Cautions On Delayed Clearance, Says Consignees May Lose Cargo
-
Maritime3 days ago
Lagos Ready For International Boat Race–LASWA
-
Maritime3 days ago
NCS Sensitises Stakeholders On Automated Overtime Cargo Clearance System
-
Maritime3 days ago
Shoprite Nigeria Gets New Funding to Boost Growth, Retail Turnaround
-
Politics3 days ago
I Would Have Gotten Third Term If I Wanted – Obasanjo
-
Sports3 days ago
Bournemouth, Newcastle Share Points
-
Sports3 days ago
Zidane’s Son Switches Allegiance To Algeria