The Warri Boys Social & Welfare Society, “Warri Boys Association” has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to avoid the lapses of the Presidential and National Assembly elections in the forthcoming governorship and state houses of assembly polls.
President of the Association, Matthew Ogagavworia, in a statement, said the lapses observed in the last elections, especially the failure to transmit the results at polling unit levels by the Commission, “contributed to diminished public trust and confidence in the results subsequently announced.”
Other issues observed include late arrival of election officials and materials at many polling units; Bi-modal verification system (BVAS) technical hitches; Violence and intimidation of voters; Poor staff understanding of election day processes, among others.
He said, “The aforementioned lapses call to question the preparedness of INEC to conduct elections that are transparent and seen to be transparent, leaving no room to question its conduct.”
- #NigeriaDecides2023: Factors that will influence Bauchi gov’ship election
- Nigeria’s Inflation rises above 21% amid cash scarcity
The association, however, called on INEC “to up its game such that it can cope with reducing late arrival of election materials and presiding officers; assuring that preparations have been made for proper lighting of Polling Units to allow voting and vote counting late into the night if need be; prompt fixing of any technical glitch in the BVAS machines; ensuring that its IReV website is in a position to receive polling unit declared and uploaded results; ensuring that its staff (permanent and ad-hoc) have the requisite knowledge and skills to handle the elections at the Polling Units assigned to them; and ensuring that there are no delays that inhibit smooth access to viewing uploaded results on the IReV portal.”
He added, “It is our Association’s belief that where these remedial actions are in place before the election, threats to lives of INEC officials, especially of the Youth Corpers who serve as ad-hoc staff, would be minimised if not totally eliminated.
“We also note that the forthcoming Gubernatorial and State Houses of Assembly Elections represent another window of opportunity for our people to use their votes to elect (not select) men and women at the State level that favour the dreams and aspirations of the Common Man.
“It is pertinent to state that across the States there is despondency due to unemployment, the vulnerability of our youths to crimes created by idleness, lack of State support, dilapidated and inadequate infrastructure, weak governance structure, corruption, declining social and ethical values in the family and in the larger society, insecurity, avarice, kidnapping, armed robbery and sheer criminality.”
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
