The Chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has lauded the Nigeria Airforce (NAF) for its cooperation in election security, logistic support and timely delivery of materials during the general elections, off-cycle elections, bye-elections, supplementary elections, and re-run elections.
Prof. Yakubu who paid a courtesy visit to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar noted the neutrality and professionalism of the NAF in particular and the armed forces in general in discharging their responsibilities as there have been no incidents or compromise on the part of their officers and airmen.
“This weekend, the Commission will conduct bye-elections and re-run elections in 26 States of the Federation. In nine States, two Senators, four members of the House of Representatives and three members of State Houses of Assembly will be elected in bye-elections to replace members who passed on or resigned their memberships of the national and State Assemblies”.
Prof. Yakubu added “In other States, re-run elections will take place at designated constituencies or polling units as ordered by the Election Appeal Tribunals. In all, the elections will fill vacancies in three Senatorial districts, 17 Federal and 28 State Constituencies spread across 80 Local Government Areas, 575 Registration Areas/Wards and 8,934 polling units involving 4,904,627 registered voters out of which 4,613,291 Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) have been collected”.
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NAF Collaboration
Prof. Yakubu said the upcoming elections are a huge national assignment which the Commission cannot do alone.
“In handling such a huge national assignment, the commission cannot do it alone. That is why we seek to mobilise every national asset, including NAF.
“It is in realisation of this objective that the law empowers the commission to seek the support of the security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies in the delivery of materials and the protection of election officials as clearly provided for in Section 27(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.
As has been the practice, INEC in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria, is delivering to many locations.
“The elections are holding on Saturday. Working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), materials are being delivered to many locations.
“However, given the size and distance of some constituencies, we seek the support of NAF to expeditiously deliver materials to the North-East, South-East and South-West geo-political zones of the country.
“We have already indicated to the chief of air staff, the specific locations and the tonnage of materials to be airlifted.”
Prof Mahmood Yakubu explained that the evacuation of the materials from the local airports to the States where the election will be held will be handled by the Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“Thereafter, the inspection and movement of all materials to the various Local Government Areas and beyond will be done with the full participation of all stakeholders, particularly agents of political parties and candidates, observers, and the media in a transparent manner”.
Strengthening democracy
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar assured of its commitment, willingness, and readiness to continue supporting INEC in providing security in addition to the rapid airlift and distribution of sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials across the country.
Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar noted that the successful conduct of elections is largely hinged on robust security and seamless logistics supply chain management, adding that the relationship between NAF and INEC has been anchored on shared objectives geared towards ensuring that good governance, stability and the rule of law reign throughout all the corners of Nigeria.
“Our beloved country stands out as a shining example for other nations of the world and is well renowned as the largest economy and democracy in Africa. The success of our democracy has been underpinned by strong institutions like the Independent National Electoral Commission, which works tirelessly to allow all citizens to enjoy the right to decide who should govern them in free and fair elections”.
The Chief of Air Staff recognized the invaluable contributions of the INEC in its efforts to entrench democracy as a form of governance which is unparalleled in its commitment to the people because it lends credence to the slogan that democracy is the best form of government known to man.
Recognition and Appreciation
The Chief of Air Staff showered encomium on the INEC Chairman for the numerous initiatives that have occurred under his watch.
“Some of which included continuous voter registration, introduction of new technologies, voter education and sensitization, and post-election reviews. Another laudable milestone achieved was the Electoral Act of 2022, which introduced reforms aimed at more timely organization of pre-electoral processes and increasing transparency in results collation and reporting”.
Air Marshall Abubakar said many other reforms have raised the bar of transparency and credibility in the country’s electoral process and commended INEC efforts as the NAF stands proud as friends of the commission.
“We, therefore, see your visit to us today as a sign of your commitment to strengthening the bonds between both organizations”.
State of aircrafts
Air Marshall Abubakar informed the INEC Chairman and his team that “At the moment, our C-130s are currently undergoing maintenance but we have other aircraft that can be employed to move sensitive materials. The caveat is that we need to move those materials a little earlier due to the capacity of the airplanes that we have available”.
He reminded Prof. Yakubu of some outstanding bills that are yet to be cleared by INEC, maintaining that the settlement of those bills would enable NAF to serve INEC better.
“I believe that this encounter will serve as a platform for even greater cooperation and synergy between the Nigerian Air Force and INEC. We are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead and the positive impact we can do collectively to make Nigeria stand strong as the giant of Africa” CAS added.
Emmanuel Ukoh
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