Politics
2023 And Conduct Of All Elections Same Day
Credible election, experts say, is the bedrock of constitutional democracy. Free and fair election guarantees peace and stability.
The consequences of a disputed election are obvious: protracted litigation, image problems for the candidates that emerge, among others.
Unarguably, Nigeria has a fair share of disputed elections. In most cases, after long litigation, the court has to decide the eventual winner.
They say that to deepen our democracy, we need to get the elections right.
To restore normalcy in the country’s electoral system, some stakeholders have suggested that all elections should hold on the same day.
There were, however, divergent views on the suggestion to hold all elections on the same day.
Even before the clamour to hold all elections in one day, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonanya Onu, had said that it was possible.
He said his ministry had developed a machine to handle elections of that magnitude.
Onu, who spoke with State House correspondents in Abuja, after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, said that Council had been briefed on the machine in the performance assessment report he submitted.
He added that the electronic voting machine would be solar-powered.
The minster explained: “This voting solution will help us to have clean elections in Nigeria and will make it possible for us as a nation to conduct all our elections in one day at the same time. “All the elections, the national, state and local governments; seven of them can be conducted the same day.”
Onu added that the other qualities of the machine included the that fact it is paperless and also designed not to store data.
“So, if somebody comes to snatch it, it’s a waste of time. As soon as data comes into it, it transmits it.
“So basically, you’ll have a system that will be addressing many of the problems that we have today in the conduct of our elections.”
The minister said that the ministry was in consultation with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the machine, which had also been presented to the National Economic Council (NEC).
“We have gone to INEC on this, to set up a committee; we also took this before the National Economic Council and we are still working to further improve on the system,” he added.
The Chief Whip of the Senate, Sen. Orji Kalu, recently re-echoed the need to conduct all elections on the same day.
The former governor of Abia, called on INEC to consider holding the 2023 general elections same day, in order to reduce cost and rigging.
Kalu said that presidential election as well as the national assembly, governorship and state house of assembly elections could be concurrently taken care of on the same day, rather than having staggered dates for them.
He stressed that holding 2023 elections on the same day would minimise cost, give the electorate opportunity to vote their genuine choice and protect their votes.
Kalu also cited the U.S., Ghana and Sierra Leone as countries indulging in same day election, adding that Nigeria will not be out of place to do same.
The former governor said inter alia: “The INEC should conduct the 2023 elections same day as staggered elections are unnecessarily expensive.
“The conduct of the elections in different days gives room for rigging, thuggery and several vices. It also puts the lives of the voters and INEC officials on intense danger.
“When elections are conducted on the same day, popular candidates will emerge, because everyone will be busy in their polling units and zones, unlike different days. The cost of running two days’ elections will also be saved.
“To deepen our democracy, we need to get the elections right. When leaders with genuine interests of the people are voted to power, they provide exceptional leadership and infrastructure to their people.”
In the same vein, a former Commissioner for Information and Orientation in Ebonyi, Chief Abia Onyike, said, conducting all elections in one day will further entrench democracy in the country.
According to Onyike, a former Deputy National President of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the idea will save cost and minimise political manipulations during elections.
“Presidential, national assembly, governorship and house of assembly elections should be conducted in one day, as this is the general practice all over the world.
“Organising elections in one day will save the country the huge cost usually incurred during staggered elections.
“Also, it will not create room for electoral manipulations which had been threatening our democratic process,’’ Onyike added.
He also stressed that conducting elections in one day would provide the electorate the opportunity to demonstrate their will without being unduly influenced.
“So, INEC should go back to the drawing board and review its capacity to conduct all the elections in one day.
“There will be no bandwagon effect and people will vote based on what they know,’’ he said.
However, two dons who spoke on the issue said it would be impossible to successfully conduct all elections in one day during the 2023 general elections.
The dons of the Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Prof. Aloysius Okolie, said that conducting all the elections in one day would be impossible because the country lacked the manpower to do so without the process losing its credibility.
“If all the elections are conducted in a day, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies will be overwhelmed as they will not have enough manpower to perform their duties.
“Yes, if it is possible to be conducted in a day it will save cost, but it is impossible because of dearth of manpower.’’
Okolie, who is Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, said staggering of elections was not responsible for electoral malpractice as canvassed by opponents.
He said malpractice was caused by overzealous and wrong perception of some politicians, who saw election as a do or die affair.
“Even in the U.S. and other developed countries, elections are not conducted in one day, but election malpractice recorded is negligible.
“No country can conduct perfect election or election that is 100 per cent free and fair, but the malpractice should be minimal and negligible,” he said.
Head of Department of Political Science, Prof. Jonah Onuoha, also said the country lacked the manpower and logistics to conduct all 2023 elections in one day.
Onuoha said that even if it would be possible, it would not be now that the country is battling with serious security challenges, coupled with the penchant of politicians to rig elections
“Saving cost and staggering of elections are not main problems of conducting elections in the country, but how to get it right and conduct credible, free and fair elections even when staggered 10 times,’’ he said.
According to him, there will even be more fraud if all elections are conducted in a day because electoral stakeholders will be overwhelmed by the magnitude of work needed.
“INEC, security agencies, election observers and the media will not have enough manpower that will give adequate attention to all elections conducted that day.
“Nigeria should focus on conducting credible, free and fair elections, which results will be accepted by all contestants.
“This will improve the country’s image as well as save billions of naira spent by aggrieved candidates to challenge election results in election petition tribunals,” Onuoha said.
Undoubtedly, Nigeria is facing a challenge of conducting free, fair and credible election. Probably, experimenting with conducting all election same day, may save the situation.
By: Obike Ukoh
Ukoh writes for the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday told the National Assembly that it requires N873.78bn to conduct the 2027 general elections, even as it seeks N171bn to fund its operations in the 2026 fiscal year.
INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, made the disclosure while presenting the commission’s 2026 budget proposal and the projected cost for the 2027 general elections before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters in Abuja.
According to Amupitan, the N873.78bn election budget covers the full conduct of national polls in 2027.
An additional N171bn is needed to support INEC’s routine activities in 2026, including bye-elections and off-season elections, the commission stated.
The INEC boss said the proposed election budget does not include a fresh request from the National Youth Service Corps seeking increased allowances for corps members engaged as ad-hoc staff during elections.
He explained that, although the details of specific line items were not exhaustively presented, the almost N1tn election budget is structured across five major components.
“N379.75bn is for operational costs, N92.32bn for administrative costs, N209.21bn for technological costs, N154.91bn for election capital costs and N42.61bn for miscellaneous expenses,” Amupitan said.
The INEC chief noted that the budget was prepared “in line with Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates the Commission to prepare its election budget at least one year before the general election.”
On the 2026 fiscal year, Amupitan disclosed that the Ministry of Finance provided an envelope of N140bn, stressing, however, that “INEC is proposing a total expenditure of N171bn.”
The breakdown includes N109bn for personnel costs, N18.7bn for overheads, N42.63bn for election-related activities and N1.4bn for capital expenditure.
He argued that the envelope budgeting system is not suitable for the Commission’s operations, noting that INEC’s activities often require urgent and flexible funding.
Amupitan also identified the lack of a dedicated communications network as a major operational challenge, adding that if the commission develops its own network infrastructure, Nigerians would be in a better position to hold it accountable for any technical glitches.
Speaking at the session, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) said external agencies should not dictate the budgeting framework for INEC, given the unique and sensitive nature of its mandate.
He advocated that the envelope budgeting model should be set aside.
He urged the National Assembly to work with INEC’s financial proposal to avoid future instances of possible underfunding.
In the same vein, a member of the House of Representatives from Edo State, Billy Osawaru, called for INEC’s budget to be placed on first-line charge as provided in the Constitution, with funds released in full and on time to enable the Commission to plan early enough for the 2027 general election.
The Joint Committee approved a motion recommending the one-time release of the Commission’s annual budget.
The committee also said it would consider the NYSC’s request for about N32bn to increase allowances for corps members to N125,000 each when engaged for election duties.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Simon Along, assured that the National Assembly would work closely with the Commission to ensure it receives the necessary support for the successful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
Similarly, the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Bayo Balogun, also pledged legislative support, warning INEC to be careful about promises it might be unable to keep.
He recalled that during the 2023 general election, INEC made strong assurances about uploading results to the INEC Result Viewing portal, creating the impression that results could be monitored in real time.
“iREV was not even in the Electoral Act; it was only in INEC regulations. So, be careful how you make promises,” Balogun warned.
The N873.78bn proposed by INEC for next year’s general election is a significant increase from the N313.4bn released to the Commission by the Federal Government for the conduct of the 2023 general election.
In a timetable issued by its National Secretariat in Abuja and signed by the National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Argungu, the party said the activities were in line with provisions of its constitution guiding the election of party officials across all tiers.
According to the schedule, membership e-registration began on January 31 and ended on February 8, while notices of congresses were dispatched to state and Federal Capital Territory chapters on February 2.
Submission of nomination forms for ward and local government congresses closed on February 9, followed by screening and appeals between February 10 and February 14.
Ward congresses are fixed for February 18, with appeals the following day, while local government congresses will take place on February 21 and appeals on February 23.
At the state level, purchase of forms for state executive positions will run from February 22 to February 25, with screening set for February 27–28 and appeals from March 1–2. State congresses are scheduled for March 3, and appeals on March 4.
Activities leading to zonal congresses and the national convention include purchase and submission of forms between March 12 and March 16, inauguration of screening committees on March 23, and screening of aspirants on March 24. Zonal congresses across the six geo-political zones are slated for March 25, with appeals on March 26.
The party’s national convention will hold from March 27 to March 28.The APC also published fees for expression of interest and nomination forms across the different tiers.
At the ward level, expression of interest costs ?5,000, while nomination forms range from ?15,000 to ?20,000 depending on the position. For local government positions, nomination forms range from ?50,000 to ?100,000 after a ?10,000 expression-of-interest fee.
State executive positions attract ?50,000 for expression of interest, with nomination forms pegged at ?1 million for chairman and ?500,000 for other offices. Zonal offices require ?100,000 expression of interest and ?200,000 for nomination.
For national positions, the fees rise significantly, with expression of interest set at ?100,000. Nomination forms cost ?10 million for national chairman, ?7.5 million for deputy national chairmen and national secretary, ?5 million for other offices, and ?250,000 for National Executive Committee membership.
The party noted that female aspirants, youths and persons living with disabilities would pay only the expression-of-interest fee and 50 per cent of nomination costs. It also clarified that Ekiti, Osun, Rivers states and the FCT are excluded from ward, local government and state congresses, but will participate in electing delegates to the national convention.
Forms are to be completed online after payment verification, with payments directed to designated APC accounts at Zenith Bank and United Bank for Africa.
The congress cycle is expected to determine new party leadership structures ahead of future electoral activities.
The Tide source reports that the committee, reportedly backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, is making moves to reclaim the Wadata Plaza headquarters months after it was sealed following a violent clash between rival factions of the party.
Senior officers at the FCT Police Command told our source that while they had not received an official briefing, police personnel would be stationed at the secretariat and other key locations to maintain peace.
The Acting National Secretary of the Mohammed-led committee, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, announced last week that the secretariat would reopen for official activities on Monday (today).
He dismissed claims that ongoing litigation would prevent the reopening, saying, “There are no legal barriers preventing the caretaker committee from resuming work at the party’s headquarters.”
However, the Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) has fiercely rejected the reopening move, insisting that Sen. Anyanwu and his group remain expelled from the PDP and have no authority to act on its behalf.
Speaking with The Tide source, the committee’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, declared: “They are living in fool’s paradise. The worst form of deceit is self-deceit, where the person knows he is deceiving himself yet continues with gusto.
“Even INEC, which they claim has recognised them, has denied them. They are indulging in a roller coaster of self-deceit.”
Mr Ememobong further revealed that letters had been sent to both the Inspector-General of Police and the FCT Commissioner of Police, stressing that the matter was still in court and warning against any attempt to “resort to self-help.”
“The case pending before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik was instituted by the expelled members. They cannot resort to self-help until judgment is delivered,” he said.
He warned that reopening the secretariat would amount to contempt of court.
A senior officer at the FCT Police Command, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that officers would be deployed to the area to avert a repeat of the November 19 violence that led to the secretariat’s initial closure.
“The command would not stand by and allow a breakdown of peace and order by the party or anyone else. Definitely, the police will have to be on the ground,” he said.
Another officer added, “There will definitely be men present at the secretariat, but I can’t say the number of police officers that would be deployed.”
When contacted, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, said she had not been briefed on the planned reopening and declined to comment on whether officers would be deployed.
Asked to confirm whether the secretariat was initially sealed by police, she responded, “Yes,” but refused to say more about the current deployment plans.
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