INEC Blacklists Partisan Lecturers As Returning, Collation Officers
BY EDMOND ODOK – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has blacklisted University lecturers who are card carrying members of political parties from participating in year’s general elections as Returning or State Collation Officers
Chairman of the Commission, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu stated this at a meeting with Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, warning that INEC will not accept the nomination of lecturers who had participated in partisan politics or convicted of electoral malpractice to play any role in the forthcoming polls.
Prof Yakubu said the collation of results in the 2023 general elections would take place in 8,809 Registration Areas or Wards; 774 Local Government Areas; 36 States and the FCT that required returning officers for each constituency.
According to him; “Put together, we will engage 23,258 personnel as Collation and Returning Officers. It is for this reason that this meeting is of crucial.
“We need the support of our universities to source the requisite number of suitably academic staff of impeccable integrity who must also understand that this is a call to national service.
“As in previous elections, we have requested each University for a specified number and category of academic staff as contained in my letter to the vice chancellors.
“I must warn that staff who are card carrying members or have participated in partisan politics should not be nominated.
“Similarly, those who may not be involved in partisan politics but are known to have obvious political leanings should not be nominated. Furthermore, those who have been convicted of electoral malpractice must be excluded.”
He said the Commission would carefully scrutinise the list which must be submitted confidentially in the manner prescribed by INEC in his letter to the Vice Chancellors, adding; “Like all election duty personnel, each collation and returning officer will swear to an oath of neutrality.”
Commending Nigerian Universities’ partnership in the conduct of elections, Prof Yakubu said without the involvement of the tertiary institutions, especially the universities, INEC would find it extremely difficult to conduct credible elections in the country.
While depending on the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members as ad hoc staff for elections, he said INEC relied on academic staff members as election Collation and Retuning officers.
He said; “For the various collation and declaration centres, the Commission draws the required Collation and Returning Officers from the academic staff of our universities, including the Vice Chancellors who serve as Returning Officers for Governorship election and State Collation Officers for Presidential election.
“In spite of a few challenges, this happy partnership has further enhanced the transparency and credibility of the elections in Nigeria as well as public confidence in the process. The commission wishes to sustain this partnership.”
Speaking earlier, the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, represented by Deputy Executive Secretary of the NUC, Chris Maiyaki commended INEC for its confidence in the Nigeria university system.
He said; “We like to appreciate INEC for always recorgnising this constituency. Why haven they gone to the civil service proper? Why not to the union? Why not to the bankers? I think this underscore the importance, the trust that the nation has in the University system.
“We hope this meeting will turn out to be a productive and fruitful one and at the end of the day as the international community and the nation expect, this elections like previous ones will also come to pass and we will have course to glorify God that Nigeria rose to the occasion.”
For the Chairman, Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Prof. Lilian Salami, the academic staff are ready to deliver their best in this national assignment.
He said if Nigeria is to be celebrated among comity of nations, the academic staff must play their role effectively, adding; “That is because not only are we training the manpower for this nation but that we are also building characters and we of course, are persons of good characters.”
Salami, who is also the Vice-Chancellor, University of Benin, further said; “We expect that in any role that we are given, I can almost vouch that because we have through come out stronger and that we will deliver to this nation.
“At the end of this exercise, we will be proud to have contributed our quota to the development of this country.” – NAN
