1 month ago
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The Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership has announced a large inaugural aimed astatine bolstering the credibility of Nigeria’s elections, starting with the upcoming off-cycle polls successful November and extending to the important 2027 wide election.
The Centre’s Chancellor and erstwhile curate of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka, disclosed this successful Abuja connected Tuesday during a property briefing to unveil a landmark study connected electoral exertion and a caller monitoring platform, the Athena Electoral Observatory, scheduled for motorboat connected October 6, 2025.
Chidoka stated that the report, titled ‘Innovations successful Electoral Technology, 2015 to 2025: Gains, Gaps and the Road Ahead,’ was designed to beryllium a nationalist speech connected the aboriginal of Nigeria’s democracy, bringing unneurotic politicians, INEC officials, civilian society, improvement partners, and information agencies.
“Our ngo is to guarantee that each innovation strengthens, not undermines, the legitimacy of Nigeria’s elections,” Chidoka said.
He said that the study was the culmination of 3 pre-event workshops held successful September with cardinal stakeholders and integrated findings from a nationwide sentiment canvass conducted by NOI Polls, offering caller national perspectives connected electoral exertion and spot up of the 2027 elections.
The erstwhile curate of Aviation said that a cardinal item of the October lawsuit volition beryllium the ceremonial motorboat of the Athena Electoral Observatory, which helium described arsenic a imperishable level for electoral accountability.
“The Athena Electoral Observatory volition service arsenic Nigeria’s autarkic lens connected elections, objective, evidence-based, and citizen-focused.
“The level volition show Nigeria’s elections and predetermination technology, way planetary innovations, supply evidence-based appraisal of reforms, and present autarkic insights,” helium said.
Responding to questions from journalists thereafter, Chidoka clarified that the Centre’s reappraisal was strategically timed to acceptable a clear, evidence-based docket for the adjacent president of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“This is simply a reappraisal of INEC’s technological innovations implicit the past 10 years. We are going to beryllium looking astatine each the exertion INEC has introduced and however it has functioned successful our electoral journey.
“Are determination gains? Are determination gaps? And however bash we instrumentality it forward? We person been conducting post-election audits. We’ve done them successful 4 states present and besides successful immoderate by-elections. We’re going to usage those post-election audits arsenic a benchmark to spot however INEC’s exertion has helped us.
“Our anticipation is that this reappraisal volition assistance america cognize whether these INEC technologies are applicable to the electoral process. What astir them should we prolong and what gaps should we close? Inevitably, this is present mounting an docket for the caller chairman. We don’t privation to hold for the caller president to come.
“We privation to reappraisal what has happened and we privation to perceive from INEC what the challenges are and wherefore immoderate of these gaps exist, truthful that the caller INEC president comes connected committee with wide clarity astir what is moving and what needs to beryllium improved,” helium explained.
The Chancellor emphasised that the Centre’s enactment was driven by data, not speculation, saying, “At the Athena Centre, we are driven by data. We are driven by evidence. We are driven by objective, verifiable information.”
He further stated that their past post-election audits person adjacent led to the naming of circumstantial polling officials who tampered with results, and that the findings would supply a applicable template for contiguous and semipermanent reform.
“This offers america an accidental to guarantee that what is bully with the INEC exertion is sustained. The gaps that are identified are enactment guardant to beryllium fixed earlier we get to 2027,” helium stated.
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