Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, warned that the 2023 general election might be jeopardised if the spate of attacks on its facilities across the country is not checked.
Yakubu raised the alarm while speaking at a public hearing by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating attacks on INEC offices and facilities across the country.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, while declaring the hearing open, said the House of Representatives was disturbed by the systematically orchestrated attacks, not only because it poses a threat to INEC’s capacity to conduct the 2023 general election, but also because it is an attack on democratic governance and the perpetrators of these attacks are enemies.
“It is on these basis that the House of Representatives not only unequivocally condemned these nefarious attacks, but also resolved to set up an Ad-hoc Committee to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the incessant attacks on INEC facilities. We are indeed hopeful that at the end of this investigation, the Committee would be able to come up with far-reaching recommendations that will not only bring an end to these unfortunate attacks on our democracy, but also ensure that the perpetrators of the nefarious acts will be made to face the full wrath of the law,” Gbajabiamila said.
While addressing the committee, Yakubu stated that despite the attacks, the Commission was determined to continue with the preparations for the elections, warning, however, that the implications would be far reaching if not curtailed.
“We are determined that we would continue with our preparations for the 2023 general election. All the facilities would be rebuilt or alternatives found and materials would be replaced. However, should such attacks continue at the pace at which they are happening at the moment, the Commission may find it increasingly difficult to recover in good time for the election. If it is about the attacks, yes we can recover, but if the attacks continue, it would be very difficult for the commission to recover. That is why concerted efforts to stop these attacks has become imperative and we hope this public hearing would contribute to the required outcome,” he said.
According to the INEC boss, the Commission would make alternative arrangements to cope with facilities that have been destroyed so far.
He added: “The attacks have far-reaching implications on preparation for the general election. First, the facilities that are destroyed, especially offices, would take time to rebuild. They are not like items of procurement that you can procure off the shelf.
So, an alternative arrangement has to be made. In some of the states, in addition to these malicious attacks, other matters that have arisen as a result of fire and flooding, we would have to make alternative arrangements by renting. In some places, we can find facilities to rent. In some of the remote areas, we may not find facilities to rent. So, we have to look for alternatives to damaged facilities.
“Secondly, several materials lost would have to be replaced. In the recent attacks, some of the PVCs for instance were lost. For the PVCs, we have instructed our state offices to send the Voter Identification Numbers of the PVCs lost so we can reprint. We can, from our database, quickly regenerate and reprint the cards so that citizens are not disenfranchised.
“The Commission and security agencies must also continue to provide safety around the facilities and this, as I said earlier, may be very challenging, because the security agencies are also protecting all of us and other national assets.
“Now, we have to rebuild the facilities and our funds are over stretched by a number of factors. We cannot continue to replace and rebuild. And what is even more worrisome for us is the attack in Izzi local council of Ebonyi State. The building was first attacked on May 18, 2012. We found the resources in our election project plan budget to rebuild the office and we did so. We rebuilt the office and our staff moved in on Friday. On Sunday that weekend, the office was burnt down again and there are five such offices nationwide where in spite of our best efforts, the facility was attacked not only once, but twice. We have five offices in which even after rebuilding or trying to rebuild, the offices were attacked again.”
