The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room held a Stakeholders’ Forum to review the 2019 General Elections and chart a way forward towards the improvement of Nigeria’s electoral process. The Forum was held on Monday, 29th April 2019 in Abuja. The Forum among other resolutions, called for an independent audit of Nigeria’s 2019 General elections. National Commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as well as Resident Electoral Commissioners were in attendance. Also in attendance was the Nigerian Army, represented by its Director of Operations and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) was represented by the Head, NSCDC Unit at INEC Headquarters. The Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) also had representatives in attendance.
Situation Room Convener, Clement Nwankwo recalled the hitches that characterised the 2019 General elections on the part of INEC and security agencies, as well as Civil Society. He further called for a reflection on what went wrong and a reform heading towards 2023. He underscored the importance of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, which is aimed at developing the legal framework for elections in Nigeria.
Festus Okoye, Okey Ibeanu, Amina Zakari and Mustapha Lecky, INEC National Commissioners, who spoke at the meeting noted among other things, the complexity of planning elections in Nigeria, especially with regard to high costs of materials and logistics, as well as centralisation of elections in INEC at the National level. Brigadier General Felix Omogui, who represented the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai spoke in support of e-voting in Nigeria, and was of the opinion that it will curtail electoral abuses like ballot box snatching and abduction of election officials at collation centres. He further recommended that the capacity of the Police be increased in order for the agency to effectively cater to elections, thereby resulting in decreased military involvement in elections. The PSC in its recommendation, called for the establishment of an Electoral Offences Commission and an attitudinal change towards politics, to demonitise politics and de-emphasize desperation for power. Deputy Comptroller Uttah Williams speaking on behalf of the NSCDC, recommended the deployment of more armed security personnel to Collation centres and that the NSCDC be allowed to prosecute electoral offenders alongside the Police, among other recommendations.
At the end of the forum, the following resolutions were reached:
- An independent audit of the elections should be carried out;
- Enhancement of the electoral legal framework, including Assent to the current Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill;
- Creation of an Electoral Offences Commission.