Politics
You Can’t Remain Analogue, INEC Chairman Tells Staff
The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, says no staff of the commission should remain analogue and manual mode but all should adapt to technological innovations and creativity.
Yakubu gave the charge on Monday in Lagos at the opening ceremony of a-four-day capacity building for INEC’s Heads of Voter Education and Publicity (VEP) and Public Affairs Officers (PAOs) in the southern states.
The Tide reports that the workshop tagged “Capacity Building on Effective Communication for Continuous Voter Education and New Polling Units for INEC’s Head of Voter Education and Public Affairs Officers’’, was organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Yakubu, who was represented by Mr Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, said that staff of the commission must adapt quickly to the new technological realities aimed at deepening electoral process.
The INEC chairman said that the commission was dealing with complex issues, diverse constituencies, intense fight for power and dangerous geographical terrains, hence the need for innovations and creativities.
Yakubu said: “Staff for the commission must adapt quickly to the new technological reality occasioned by advances in technology, the global health pandemic, challenge of best practices in election administration and management.
“The staff of the commission in general and information managers in particular cannot afford to remain analogue and on manual mode when a new generation of Nigerians is migrating steadily to the digital world.
“We must at all times strive to show the way in moving the country toward a direction that will lead to better elections, even as the commission has demonstrated capacity, creativity and innovation in times of great changes, difficulties and challenges.”
According to him, at the height of the pandemic and when many advanced countries suspended or called off their elections, INEC developed an electoral continuity plan and strategy and conducted two constitutionally-circumscribed governorship elections.
He said that INEC policy on conducting elections in the context of COVID-19 pandemic received global and international acclaim and became a standard for so many African countries.
Yakubu said that within the same period, the commission designed a Candidate Nomination Portal through which political parties uploaded the personal particulars and list of their nominated candidates.
He said that the commission also developed a portal for domestic election observers and the media through which they applied for accreditation.
“Within the same period too, the commission developed and deployed INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) through which the commission uploaded polling unit results for public view.
“These are innovations and developments all HODs, VEP and PAOs must be abreast of and relay to the public at necessary junctures,” Yakubu said.
He urged all HODs VEP and PAOs to read widely, broadly and be on top of information as well as knowing how to work on different social media platforms so as not to be impediments to INEC’s progress.
The INEC chairman said that the CVR online pre-registration exercise as well as biometric and physical capturing exercises which commenced on June 28 and July 26 respectively nation-wide, had seen more Nigerians embrace technologies.
“The commission is introducing technology in the country’s electoral process to aid efficiency and make the conduct of elections less cumbersome, more transparent and more engaging.
“Considering the complex geographical terrain of the country, the commission believes that deepening the use of technology will assist it organise elections efficiently and declare results in record time,” he said..
According to him, the commission believes that deepening the use of technology in electoral process “will limit prospects of pernicious and malicious interference in the electoral process and election outcomes”.
Yakubu said that the duality of quality control and due diligence would eliminate as much as possible, the anxiety of moving results from the polling units to the collation centres.
“Technology will also enhance and domicile the processes of the commission within the commission and enhance monitoring and compliance.
“Within the context of a global pandemic, technology is the oxygen for electoral continuity.
“The commission is committed to ensuring that all Nigerians, with no legal disability, who desire to vote, must vote no matter their station in spite of their location.
“Technology holds the key to the actualisation of this goal. The commission will, therefore, call-in aid, technology to obviate some of the challenges of manual processes and procedures,” Yakubu said.
He expressed INEC’s determination to enhance the power and value of vote and enable eligible Nigerians to vote in a safe and peaceful environment.
The INEC chairman said that the commission would continue to deepen partnership with the judiciary and other stakeholders in its efforts to improve on the integrity of elections.
He solicited the understanding of the judiciary to interpret the constitution and the law more purposefully and enhance, guarantee, protect and secure the power, prestige and independence of INEC.
Yakubu commended the UNDP and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for making the capacity building programme possible.
Also speaking, Mr Nick Dazang, Director of Voter Education and Publicity, said that voter registration remained crucial to INEC’s work and mandate to organise and conduct elections.
Dazang said that without a credible register, election could not be credible.
He noted that since 2007, the commission had begun using technology to register voters with the introduction of Direct Data Capturing Machine.
He said that staff must the brought to speed in all novel technologies.
Earlier in his welcome address, Mr Sam Olumekun, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Lagos State, said that the workshop was apt now that the commission had embarked on dual online pre-registration and physical biometric capturing.
Olumekun, who was represented by Mrs Ijeoma Okey-Igbokwe, Head of Department, General Administration and Procurement, said that the workshop was an evidence of INEC’s determination to improve on its performance in the conduct of flawless election in 2023.
sinbajo’s Directives -Malami
Politics
Alia Denies Calling For Ganduje’s Resignation
Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has denied calling for the resignation of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje.
This was contained in a press statement issued on Wednesday in Makurdi by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Tersoo Kula.
The Tide source reports that the CPS was reacting to some media reports that the governor had called for the resignation of the APC national chairman.
Kula said the governor at no time called for the resignation of the APC national chairman.
He said the governor enjoyed a good relationship with the Ganduje-led leadership of the APC.
“It is imperative to clarify that at no point did Governor Alia assembled, attended and sent a representative or participated in any meeting to discuss the removal or call for resignation of Alhaji. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
“The Benue State governor remains firm in his support and allegiance to the leadership of the National Working Committee of the APC, under the leadership of Alhaji Ganduje.
“Furthermore, at no point, whether publicly or privately, has the governor advocated or expressed any desire for the resignation of the national party chairman”, he said.
He said the governor was focused on positively changing the fortunes of the state.
“He is alive to his responsibilities as the leader of APC in Benue State and is doing everything legitimate to reposition the party for future victories,” Kula said.
Politics
LP Re-Elects Abure As National Chairman
The embattled national chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Julius Abure, has been re-elected for a second term by a unanimous affirmation of delegates despite the protests by the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
The Chairman of the National Convention and Deputy Governor of Abia State, Mr. Ikechukwu Emetu declared him the winner during the party’s national convention that held in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Wednesday.
Other serving officers of the party were also returned unopposed.
Recall that the NLC had called for Abure’s resignation as party chairman and the immediate constitution of a caretaker transition committee to organize an all-inclusive national convention for the party.
Meanwhile, a factional chairman of the Labour Party in Anambra State, Mr Peter Okoye has boasted that the Nnewi national convention will not stand.
Describing the convention as a sham, Okoye said: “This is not a convention. We are on top of the matter. It’s purely illegal.
“There was no ward congress, no local government congress, no state congress, and now who and who are the elected delegates that are electing the National Working Committee, NWC, members?
“The NLC was not there, TUC was not there, the owners of the party and members of the NEC and BOT members were not there too. So, who is holding the convention?”
Politics
Suswam Blames External Forces For Problems In PDP
Former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is being undermined by external forces which have rendered the party ineffective as a viable opposition.
Senator Suswam stated this during a live television interview on Wednesday.
He lamented that the party had since after the 2023 general elections failed to live up to expectations of Nigerians as a viable opposition.
Senator Suswam, who blamed the current PDP leadership for the ineffective state of the largest opposition party in the country, said unless there is an overhaul of its leadership, the party would “go nowhere” because the current leadership has lost focus.
He said, “I think there are subterranean forces inferring in the party and they are determining what is going on in the party. And the leadership is acquiescing to it.
“Subterranean suggests that people are trying to control the party from the outside. They are controlling the party from the outside and they are keeping the party in a comatose state.”
The Benue senator accused the party of refusing to call a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to help resolve some of the issues arising in the party.
He regretted the inability of the party to resolve the fallout of the 2022 presidential primary election which saw a group of five governors work against the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election.
He added that the inability of the Iliya Damagum-led leadership to discipline erring party members worsened the situation.
Senator Suswam said it was wrong for the party not to have sanctioned the G-5 governors and their allies who openly declared that they would remain in the party and work against its interest.
“They were not sanctioned which made others become emboldened to act anyway they wanted. PDP has been weakened since then,” he said.
He said no serious organisation does that, stressing that, “A serious organisation would apply sanctions” based on the laid down rules as contained in its constitution.
He further accused the acting national chairman of the party, Ambassador Iliya Damagum, of occupying the position which belongs to the North-Central zone, following the removal of the substantive chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, who hails from the zone.
Amb. Damagum, who was the Deputy National Chairman (North), hails from the North-East zone but was, as permitted by the party’s constitution, made acting chairman after Ayu’s removal by a court order.
The party’s law provides that the deputy chairman from the same region as the chairman takes over in the event of the latter’s removal from office.
Senator Suswam further lamented that “PDP is comatose now, and nothing can happen now,” adding that it was regrettable that politicians are now preferring to hold talks with smaller parties and not the PDP.
Noting that the PDP was at the precipice, Senator Suswam said, “Until we provide that leadership, PDP will not be a viable platform. We need to overhaul the leadership of the party. There is no pretence about it, everybody in PDP knows it. Without discipline and reconciliation, the party goes nowhere.”
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