The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that sensitive electoral materials for the 2023 general elections are in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The development appears to be a reversal of the earlier decision of the electoral body stopping the apex bank from keeping sensitive electoral materials in the wake of reports of the alleged involvement of the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, in some political activities.
According to Punch, this was made known on Tuesday by the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, INEC, Festus Okoye, during a chat.
Okoye stated that the commission has printed and delivered most of the sensitive materials, such as results and ballot papers, and kept them with the CBN for movement to the commission’s local government offices across the country.
He also noted that INEC had almost concluded the delivery of the non-sensitive materials across the country.
INEC has printed, delivered most of the sensitive electoral materials
- While speaking on the delivery of sensitive electoral materials for the forthcoming elections, Okoye said, “The commission is ready for the February 25 and March 11, 2023, general elections. The commission has taken delivery of the full complement of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System for the 176,846 polling units in Nigeria. The BVAS will be deployed to all the polling units except the 240 polling units that have zero voters. The commission has taken delivery of the redundancies for the 8, 809 Registration Areas and the 774 local government areas of the country.
- “The commission has tested the BVAS and carried out mock accreditation and they are fit for purpose in terms of hardware and software upgrades. The process of configuration of the BVAS has commenced and the commission is satisfied with the progress made so far. The BVAS is a sensitive election material and they are in safe locations under heavy security.
- ‘’The BVAS is the ultimate arbiter and game-changer, and Nigerians expect it to perform optimally. The BVAS is the albatross of election riggers and identity thieves and those with false identities should keep away from the polling units.
- “The commission has printed and delivered the bulk of the sensitive materials meant for the conduct of national elections, in terms of result sheets and ballot papers. These materials have been deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria, awaiting movement to the various local government offices of the commission.
‘’The commission has almost concluded the delivery of the non-sensitive materials and they are presently being batched in accordance with the Registration Areas. The training of various categories of ad hoc staff has commenced and the commission is satisfied with the progress made so far.”
For catch up
- Recall that on June 4, 2022, the Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, said that sensitive electoral materials will in the meantime no longer be routed through the CBN.
- This decision by the electoral body was alleged to be connected to the perceived partisanship of the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who was accused by some stakeholders and a good number of Nigerians of showing interest in contesting for the office of the president in the 2023 general election under the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) platform.
- The INEC chairman noted that the electoral body had never had an issue with the CBN since the partnership started, but due to “current circumstances”, an alternative would be found.
- He said that the decision by INEC is to guarantee that electoral materials that are to be used for the elections are not compromised.
