A former Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mike Igini, says beyond the physical attack on the INEC’s facilities, the ad-hoc staff system for the 2023 general elections will be attacked.
He said this on Wednesday during a chat on Arise TV.
There have been reports of attacks on INEC offices in some states, where hoodlums set the facilities on fire, burning thousands of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
Igini said while the burnt PVCs would be reprinted by the commission, the security challenges posed by the attacks must be taken seriously.
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He said: “We must look at what’s responsible for these attacks. Why are they attacking INEC offices? What has INEC done? My concern, which is my area of interest and vocation as I’ve promised to always educate Nigerians, is that: Nigerians, don’t be discouraged. These PVCs that have been burnt, INEC is going to reproduce them. They’ll be available before the election.
“But going forward, I think communities also have a responsibility. One of the things that have failed our security system is what is called lack of investment in the area of intelligence. There’s intelligence collapse.
“We need to have a situation where the intelligence arm of the police is in places mixing up with people and all of that.”
He said attacks would likely continue up to the recruitment processes for the ad-hoc INEC staff for the coming election.
