Professor Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, has stated that the 2023 general election will take place despite the many attacks on the commission’s facilities around the country.
Addressing an audience at Chatham House in London on Tuesday afternoon, Yakubu criticized the rising incidence of arson assaults on INEC’s premises, but convinced the audience that the polls will go place as planned.
While noting that the commission’s 50 facilities had been assaulted in four years, the electoral umpire chairman stated that the assaults meant the commission would have to continue to reconstruct the burnt facilities and replace supplies.
He did, however, promise that INEC has strengthened security in partnership with security services.
He noted that the last attack on the commission’s facilities happened last week Sunday but the commission was able to respond quickly with the help of the military, thereby minimising the extent of damage done to that attacked facility.
“In four years, 50 facilities (have been) attacked in various parts of the country. The implications of the attacks is that we have to rebuild facilities and replace materials. The commission and security agencies have increased their presence in some of these locations. The last attack happened on Sunday last week but because of the cooperation between the military and the electoral commission, we were able to respond and the damage was limited to just a section of the building in a local government office.
“The commission has repeatedly called for concerted efforts to control and check these attacks and in December last year the National Assembly held a public hearing on these attacks and we hope that authorities have these attacks under control and the response by the security agencies is more coordinated.
“But in spite of these attacks we will rebuild facilities and replace damaged and lost items, the elections will hold,” Yakubu said.
