The ActionAid Nigeria appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to localized deployment of the election materials and other election logistics, apart from local volunteers at every polling unit to enhance transparency of the election.
The ActionAid Country Director, Ene Obi made the call yesterday in Abuja at the one-day roundtable discussion on the logistics performance in the 2023 general election.
The event to discuss the logistics performance of the 2023 General Elections was also to serve as a platform for the review of the performance of logistics deployed in the just concluded 2023 elections, share experiences, identify gaps, limitations, and learning, while proffering possible practical alternatives for improved logistics delivery.
“We need to localized deployment election logistics materials and have volunteers at every level. We need to rise as citizens and say we will do the right thing. There were adequate plans in place for this particular election, what happened next is for an INEC to explain, but the truth is that you cannot be repeating the same issues.
“When the logistics framework was developed, INEC itself testified that this was the best that they have done, so what happens, we do not know. We were assured that the central bank was going to give that money to INEC, and the commission that received the money said they said they had all the provisions, but did they actually have it?” Obi said.
According to her “INEC chairman said one time that the CBN had given them all the money but when you ask the REC, they will tell you something different that they did not get the money or they didn’t get it at all and it truncate all channels.”
Also, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Chief Tony Ojukwu, said election monitoring is one of the functions of the commission.
“The Commission will continue to monitor the elections in Nigeria and provide updates, share information and make recommendations to the appropriate authorities,” Ojukwu said.
The keynote speaker and former INEC Commissioner, Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu, noted that there is the need for more training of INEC staff in order to reduce human error in election logistics management which supports sabotage and political interference.
He said, “INEC should seriously consider the use of safe local facilities to make logistics less dependence on transport providers and make monitoring and supervision should be priority.
“A proper assessment of the logistics for the 2023 general election must recognize that although election-day activities or voting operations are probably the most critical in the electoral cycle, they are not the sole activities in administering an election.
“Lessons and the way forward from the 2023 general elections; No alternative to early and comprehensive planning; Inadequate capacity in the Commission, especially in deploying technological tools; INEC LMS -Logistics Management System. Need for more training of INEC staff on these tools. This will also reduce human agency in election logistics management, which supports sabotage and political interference.”
