As many Nigerians are expecting a peaceful, credible polls, more than 30m Nigerian youths regard the exercise as a generational revolution that will see them take back their country from the old and corrupt politicians who have mismanaged the nation’s resources for decades.
By Goddy Ikeh
APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
Despite the harsh economic conditions brought about by the Naira redesign policy, scarcity of petrol and security issues across the country, the Chairman of the Nigerian electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, says the Presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on Saturday, February 25, while the Gubernatorial and State Assembly polls will hold on March 11, 2023.
Briefing several groups of election observers in Abuja on Tuesday, February 21, 2023 on preparations for the polls, Yakubu said that a total of 146,913 domestic and international observers would be deployed for the 2023 general elections.
He disclosed that Nigeria is recording the highest number of observers in its electoral history as the Commission has already accredited 196 national and domestic organisations that will deploy 144,800 observers and 33 international organisations that will deploy 2,113 observers.
Yakubu, however, urged the observers to abide by the laws of Nigeria and avoid interfering in the elections, while discharging their duties on election days.
“I wish to remind observers that there is a code of conduct for election observation. You are by definition observers. Do not interfere with the process or show partisanship.
“In addition, international observers must be guided by the fact that the election is conducted by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, whose sovereignty must be respected. I urge you all to keep to the rules,” he said.
As part of the preparations for the Presidential election on Saturday, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced that it is dedicating its Consumer Toll-Free Number 622, to serve as 2023 Presidential Election Incident Hotline to enable voters and members of the public across Nigeria to report any issues that may affect them, or others, during the election on Saturday.
The Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said that the step was to support INEC in its commitment towards the conduct of hitch-free elections in Nigeria.
The Toll-Free Number 622 is the second-level complaints centre through which consumers of telecommunications services are allowed to make calls directly to the Commission to resolve issues concerning their telecommunications services, which the service providers are unable to do.
“However, in consideration of the critical nature of this election and to alleviate emergent issues that may arise at the voting centres, or any parts of Nigeria thereof, the Commission has considered it expedient to dedicate the Toll-Free Number 622 to accommodate all types of complaints on election days.
“This is with a view to resolving such issues by contacting and conveying such to relevant agencies, authorities, or organisations for timely resolution,” he said.
Apart from preparations announced by INEC, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Usman Alkali Baba, has confirmed the readiness of the Nigeria Police Force for the general elections and 310, 973 officers and men have been mobilised to provide security during the exercise scheduled for February 25 and March 11.
Baba told newsmen in Abuja that other security outfits, aside the military and the Department of State Service (DSS), would complement efforts of the police with a total of 93,133 personnel, bringing all to 404,106 personnel.
“Nigeria police will deploy 310,973 personnel for the elections security operations. This will comprise the conventional policemen, the mobile policemen, the special counterterrorism unit, the special forces, intelligence response team and other sections of the police.
“As part of efforts to address the menace of votes selling and buying, a special intelligence unit of the force has been constituted to clandestinely monitor the trend and work with EFCC, ICPC and INEC in identifying the network that may be involved in this illegality and apprehend them where possible.
“In addition, the unique technical intelligence assets of the force are also being deployed towards identifying adverse elements that may be planning to disrupt the process. Through this initiate, such elements will be identified real time, geo-located, isolated, arrested and brought to justice,” he said.
In spite of the assurance of INEC and the Police boss on the provision of adequate security for the polls, some foreign nations have announced precautionary measures ahead of the polls during the period of the elections.
For instance, the British Government has vowed to punish election riggers and any other Nigerian who promotes or supports violence and other electoral malpractices.
In the same vein, the United States Embassy in Nigeria has also alerted its citizens in Nigeria on possible protests during or immediately after the elections holding on Saturday, February 25 and Saturday, March 11, 2023. The advice, which is contained in a notice on its website, the Embassy told US nationals to avoid rallies as “they can turn violent with little or no notice”.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Candidates of the 18 political parties registered to contest the elections met on Wednesday in Abuja and signed the Peace Pact ahead of the elections. Among the presidential candidates present were the three front runners, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples’ Democratic Party. According to some political analysts, Obi represents and leads the movement for the rebirth of Nigeria, while Tinubu and Atiku represent the old politicians, who have been largely responsible for the misrule and poor state of the nation.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who addressed the candidates and other dignitaries at the signing ceremony, reiterated his commitment to allowing the rule of law to take its course. He called on those saddled with the responsibility of conducting the election to allow the electorate to choose who governs them. Buhari also appealed to the candidates to accept the outcome of the election, and seek legal redress if dissatisfied.
As the international community awaits the conduct of this year’s crucial elections, the West African country cannot afford not to lead by example and send a strong message to the world about consolidating its democracy in the sub-region that has of recent witnessed a number of military coups.
GIK/APA