The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has vowed that never again would elections be postponed at the eleventh hour due to logistics challenges.
The INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, said this yesterday in Abuja at the inauguration of the Electoral Logistics Committee (ELoC) for the 2023 general elections.
He said the ELoC committee was distinct from the commission’s Electoral Operations and Logistics Committee (EOLC), which is a standing committee chaired by a national commissioner.
“The ELoC is an inter-agency committee established close to general elections for a specific objective. It is, therefore, ad hoc in nature.
“We are determined that never again should elections be postponed at the eleventh hour on account of logistics,” Yakubu said.
He said the establishment of the committee was borne out of INEC’s effort to ensure the speedy and safe delivery of huge quantities of sensitive and non-sensitive materials for the 2023 general elections.
“The logistics for the clearance, handling, custody, delivery and distribution of enormous quantities of election materials is the biggest operation Nigeria undertakes every four years.
“For effective coordination, the commission believes that every national asset must be mobilised. For the movement of election materials and protection of personnel nationwide, section 27(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022 empowers the commission to seek for the support of the armed forces.
“Accordingly, the three armed services (Army, Navy and Air Force) are members of the ELoC. Similarly, the Nigeria Police Force, being the lead agency in election security, is also a member, as well as sister security agencies.
“The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) are also members, pursuant to their statutory responsibilities for the clearance and release of materials at seaports and other entry points into the country,” Yakubu said.
He also said that at the country’s various airports, aviation agencies like the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Air Space Management Agency (NAMA), among others, played important roles, including the facilitation of access to all airports nationwide for shuttle services for elections as the need arises.
He urged members of the committee to commence their meeting immediately and submit periodic reports through the chairman of the committee, who is an INEC cational commissioner.
