The Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA) has listed ways to tackle the raging attacks on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices in parts of the country.
It also urged that measures should be taken to tackle vote buying, among other challenges.
CTA Executive Director, Faith Nwadishi, said this on Friday in Abuja at a briefing on the preparedness of INEC towards the 2023 general elections.
Ms. Nwadishi was represented by the Programme and Communications Manager of CTA, Mr. MacDonald Ekemezie.
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According to her, the ugly and alarming trend of burning of INEC offices and materials in recent times is a dangerous, criminal and condemnable act if unchecked could pose a grave danger to the 2023 general elections.
“The CTA views this act of arsons as unpatriotic and wonders why some people have constituted themselves to enemies of our democracy, peace, and common sense,” she said.
She noted that as at last count, there has been about 42 attacks in 14 states of the federation.
Nwadishi said, “The security agencies should up their acts at this critical moment in our nations’ history and apprehend, prosecute, and punish offenders. They should be treated as criminals.
“Also, intelligence gathering with cooperation with community members should be encouraged at this time. INEC personnel and facilities including other critical infrastructures related or not related to elections must be protected by the security agencies.”
She called for collective actions on voters’ education through the media on money politics, including voter trading and other misdemeanours.
“Politicians who move with money on election days to buy votes should be apprehended by security agencies and anti-graft agencies. They should be prosecuted and punished severely.
“There should be a mechanism by relevant government agencies like the EFCC, ICPC, NFIU, NBC among others, to prevent use of public funds and resources by government officials to influence votes and outcomes of elections.
“Civil Society Organisations should support INEC and report vote buying during election observation, in fact, make it a priority,” she said
Nwadishi also urged adequate planning on logistics arrangements, seamless permanent voters card (PVCs) collections and the commitment of the political players to the ‘peace accord’ organised by the National Peace Committee (NPC).
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