The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has raised the alarm over an alleged plot to disrupt the re-run and bye-elections in some states of Nigeria. The elections are scheduled to hold on 3rd February, 2024.
The INEC Chairman raised the alarm on Tuesday in Abuja at the first quarterly meeting of the Interagency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
“From experience, the conduct of isolated elections such as bye-elections and re-run elections can be very challenging. We must pay attention to the potential for disruptive behaviour by some candidates and their supporters.”
“A re-run election conducted in one Polling Unit (PU) or a handful of Polling Units (PUs) can be severely disrupted by acts of thuggery knowing full well that these few locations will determine the outcome of the election.
“Arising from the reports we received from the states, concerns have been raised about the impact of the prevailing insecurity in some states on the conduct of the elections, made worse by incendiary statements by some political actors,” Yakubu said.
The Chairman of the INEC further challenged the security agencies to make the environment conducive for the conduct of the elections.
“There are two categories of elections. First are the bye-elections arising from the death or resignation of members of the National and State legislative houses affecting two Senatorial Districts, four Federal and three State Assembly Constituencies. The second category is the re-run elections by order of Election Petition Appeal Tribunals.
“In my remarks at the Commission’s extraordinary meeting with leaders of political parties last month, I reported that the elections affect 35 national and state constituencies. Since then, four additional orders of the Court of appeal have been served on the commission in respect of Yabo/Shagari Federal Constituency of Sokoto State, Madara/Chinade State Constituency of Bauchi State as well as Kudan and Kauru/Chawai State Constituencies of Kaduna State.
“This brings the total number of affected constituencies to 39 which translates to 2.6% of the 1,491 constituencies for which elections were conducted nationwide in the 2023 General Elections,” Yakubu said.
He said the nine bye-elections were fresh elections covering the entire constituencies, but that with the exception of three constituencies (Plateau North Senatorial District and Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency in Plateau State and Kachia/Kagarko Federal Constituency in Kaduna State), the re-run elections would hold in a few PUs.
He said that in some cases, only one PU is affected in an entire Federal or state constituency.
The INEC boss said that security agencies had a duty to protect personnel and materials, observers, the media as well as the polling and collation agents representing the political parties and candidates.
