2023 General Election Must be Different- INEC Chairman

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has said he will set a standard in the 2023 general elections, which will be used for future polls in the nation.
Yakubu stated this on Monday during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners at the INEC Headquarters, Abuja.

He noted that as part of measures to ensure success, Resident Electoral Commissioners RECs would be given one week to compile and submit an inventory of all election materials in their custody, which will help the commission make better arrangements, especially in areas where there were shortfalls.
According to him, “As you are also aware, the commission is committed to deepening the culture of planning for elections. The current five-year plan covering the period 2017-2021 expires this year.

“For this reason, a committee involving the participation of some RECs was inaugurated a few weeks ago to review the Strategic Plan and the Strategic Programme of Action to cover the next cycle of five years from 2022-2026.
“The committee is making good progress. Its report should be submitted by the end of this month to enable the commission to engage stakeholders for its validation and subsequent implementation.
The chairman noted that to correct the mistakes in the past, all hands must be on deck and urged all states to comply with the demands.

“I want to assure Nigerians that this will be accomplished long before the expiry of the current plan at the end of this year. As we continue to plan for the next general election, the RECs have been directed to compile and submit an inventory of all election materials in order to determine shortfalls and take early steps to ensure their adequacy and availability.

“Only a few states are still outstanding. I wish to remind the state that are yet to make their submissions to do so by the end of this week. This will enable us to address some of the logistics issues that have become a recurring decimal in elections in the past.
“The 2023 general election must be different from all previous elections in terms of our preparations and readiness.”