The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled Saturday, 25th January 2020 for the conduct of 28 re-run and supplementary elections in 11 States across Nigeria. INEC Chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, during his visit to the State House on Tuesday, 7th January 2020, briefed President Muhammadu Buhari on the 2019 general elections and the elections nullified by the courts, giving rise to the re-run elections to be conducted.
An expanded meeting of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCESS), which held on Friday, 10th January 2020 in Abuja, had representatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), among representatives of various security services in attendance. Prof. Mahmood, speaking at the meeting, explained that the inclusion of the anti-graft agencies as members of ICCES was to address the illegal deployment of financial resources to influence the outcome of elections, especially for vote buying on election day and tracking financial flows for illicit purposes, as well as the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators. He underscored the need for a new approach to election security, stating that, “No thugs and hoodlums can be more powerful than the Nigeria Police and other security agencies”. He added that, “It is the failure to act decisively and collaboratively that encourages thuggery and serves as an incentive for bad behavior”.
The re-run and supplementary elections are billed to hold in the following States: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Bauchi, Cross River, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Niger, Ogun and Sokoto States.