Nigerians will witness most transparent elections ever — INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission has said Nigerians will experience the most transparent elections as the presidential and National Assembly elections of  February 25, draws nearer adding that the polls will be transparent and devoid of vote buying.

 

The commission said Nigerians would vote without bags of money being displayed at the polling units, especially with the new monetary policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

 

INEC Head, Voters Education in Rivers State, Mark Osulo, stated this at a national roundtable on ‘Roadmap to a Credible and Violence Free 2023 General Elections’ organised by Equity International Initiative in Port Harcourt on Monday.

 

Osulo said the electoral umpire would ensure the conduct of  credible elections and urged all candidates and politicians to play by the rules of the game.

 

Osulo stated that the new monetary policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria has saved the menace of vote buying.

 

He stated, “I assure you that the election is going to be free and fair. There will be no vote buying. It is going in tandem with our plans with stakeholders.

 

“We are going to experience an election without vote buying. There will be no money to buy votes. I assure you that the elections will be very free and fair.

 

 

“The elections will be devoid of vote buying. It will be technologically driven and it’s going to to be the most transparent elections.”

 

He further said the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System will also enhance the commission’s resolve to ensure a credible poll.

 

Earlier, the Country Director of EII, Dr Chris Iyala, stated that the 2023 election was crucial to the survival of the nation.

 

Iyala noted that Nigerians are holding INEC to its promise of a free, fair and Credible election.

 

He said the roundtable was organised to identify what makes a free, fair and credible election and ensure that the nation experiences same in the days to come.

 

“This election is crucial. We are focusing on the credibility of the election. In the 2019, we set election situation monitoring and we monitored election at 8000 units.

 

“We are holding INEC by their word on the statement that they will conduct a free and fair election.

 

 

“For the first time, we have witnessed how elections should be conducted especially with the Osun election,” he stated.

 

 

However, The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor has reassured Nigerians that the armed forces and other security agencies are ready to provide safe and secure environment for the 2023 general elections.

 

Irabor gave the assurance while briefing newsmen shortly after meeting with service chiefs and heads of security agencies on Monday in Abuja.

 

The closed-door meeting was attended by Service Chiefs, Inspector-General of Police, Directors General of Department of State Services (DSS) and National Intelligence Agency (NIA), and the Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI).

 

He said the purpose of the meeting was to review security arrangements for the elections and develop action plans to ensure that the exercise hold under a peaceful atmosphere.

 

“We have just finished the meeting. The service chiefs, the Inspector General of Police, the DSS, represented by the Director of Operations, the DG, NIA and the CDI.

 

“Looking at the security for the elections and as you know, the police is the lead agency for elections security, we have compared notes and assessed the entire situation and we are good to go.

 

“The assessment is that we are set on all fronts.

 

“We got representation from the Independent National Electoral Commission, who of course you have interacted with, and has also told Nigerians and the world that they are ready for this election.

 

“By and large, we are good to go and I like to use this opportunity to assure Nigerians that on the security front, we are good to go on all fronts,” he said.

 

Irabor also gave assurance that the security agencies would cover every part of the country to ensure peaceful elections, so that all eligible Nigerians exercise their franchise.

 

He added that contingency actions had been taken to address areas with peculiar security challenges.

 

The CDS warned those that intend to cause trouble during the elections to have a have rethink, “because they will have a bloody nose”

 

Meanwhile, The Federal Government says Nigeria has made tremendous progress and better than 2015 when the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was in power.

 

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said this on Monday when he featured on Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) live programme, “Good Morning Nigeria”

 

Speaking on the programme monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the minister said the Buhari government had met the expectations of Nigerians and true to its mandate giving the time frame and circumstances.

 

The minister said the attempts to de-market the government and in the process the country were the handwork of die-hard naysayers and very vocal minority.

 

Speaking on the administration’s achievements, the minister said in 2015, the entire North East region was inaccessible and 20 of the 27 Local Government Areas in Borno were under the occupation and control of Boko Haram insurgents.

 

He said presently no portion or part of Nigeria territory was under the occupation and control of insurgents.

 

Mohammed recalled that in 2015, Nigeria was number one importer of rice from Thailand but with the administration’s policies and programmes on agriculture, the country is self-sufficient in the staple and food in general.

 

He said millions of farmers had been empowered with the Anchor Borrowers Programme while the number of rice mills in the country had been increased from two in 2015 to 60 presently

 

Under the administration’s social intervention programmes, the minister said 10 million pupils were being fed daily while two million households were benefitting from Conditional Cash Transfer among others.

 

 

Mohammed said the administration had constructed 17,000 kms of new roads and rehabilitated 8,000 kms across the country

 

“We completed the Lagos-Ibadan expressway as well as the Second Niger Bridge, which was a mirage for more than three decades.

 

“Also for more than three decades, Nigerians did not know what it means to travel by train until the Buhari government came to power.

 

“In spite of all the sabotage, today we have working, the Lagos-Ibadan railway, Abuja-Kaduna railway and Ajaokuta-Warri railway which were not in existence before we came,’’ he said.

 

The minister said the Buhari’ government would continue to build a progressive and prosperous nation and would not be cowed or intimidated by the naysayers.