INEC Chairman urges NASS to pass amendments to electoral legal framework

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has appealed to the National Assembly to expedite enactment connected passing amendments to the electoral ineligible framework.

Yakubu made the telephone connected Thursday successful Abuja erstwhile helium received the European Union (EU) Election Observation Follow-up Mission to Nigeria, led by Mr Barry Andrews, who led the EU Mission to the 2023 General Election.

Yakubu said that an aboriginal transition of the instrumentality was captious to the commission’s readying for the adjacent wide election.

“Uncertainty implicit the ineligible model for the predetermination tin unsettle the enactment of the committee arsenic predetermination draws nearer,” helium said.

Yakubu said that the committee had cautiously considered each the 8 recommendations specifically addressed to the committee by the EU Election Observation (EU EOM) study connected 2023 wide election.

He recalled that successful 2019, the EU EOM made 30 recommendations retired of which 11 were specifically addressed to INEC, noting that 3 of them were identified arsenic precedence recommendations portion 8 were categorised arsenic general.

He added that by comparison, EU EOM 2023 study made 23 recommendations retired of which 8 (34.8 per cent) necessitate enactment by INEC of which lone 1 proposal was listed arsenic priority.

He said that the remaining 15 (65.2 per cent) recommendations, retired of which 5 were categorised arsenic priority, necessitate enactment by different entities successful the executive, legislature, judiciary, governmental parties and aggregate stakeholders.

“The committee has cautiously considered each the 8 recommendations specifically addressed to america successful your report.

“Action has been taken connected aspects of the recommendations that lone necessitate administrative enactment to implement.

“Similarly, enactment is being taken connected cross-cutting recommendations that necessitate corporate enactment betwixt INEC and different bodies and stakeholders portion waiting for the decision of the ongoing ineligible reappraisal by the National Assembly connected the recommendations that necessitate legislative intervention,” helium said.

Yakubu noted that EU recommendations, on akin reports from different nationalist and planetary predetermination observers, were the taxable of wide-ranging consultations with captious institutions and stakeholders during INEC reappraisal of the 2023 General Election.

He said the reappraisal study contains 142 recommendations for electoral reform, adding that INEC had published our main 2023 General Election study implicit a twelvemonth ago.

“As you are aware, predetermination is simply a process governed by law. Many of your recommendations necessitate the reappraisal of our electoral laws.

“For this reason, the committee had interfaced with our National Assembly, including a retreat with the Joint Committee connected Electoral Matters,” helium said.

Yakubu assured the EU EOM that INEC would proceed to prosecute with the ngo and different observers saying their recommendations had helped to amended the prime of our elections and electoral activities.

In his remarks, Andrews, said they were astatine INEC to cognize however acold the committee had gone successful implementing the commission’s recommendations connected the 2023 wide election.

Andrews said that the ngo wanted to cognize the advancement made truthful far, what concerns and obstacles if immoderate successful the future, peculiarly astir law change.

“So what we are present to bash is to look astatine the recommendations that flowed from the wide mission, that were contained successful the last study of the ngo backmost successful 2023.

“We are precise blessed to spot that determination has been important advancement against these recommendations.

“We recognise that determination are definite clip constraints, some successful presumption of judicial betterment arsenic good arsenic administrative reform.

“Of course, law reform, which is somewhat much difficult, but we are making each of these recommendations against planetary standards that the EU, that Nigeria, that astir countries, person signed up to.

“So we are portion of an wide planetary ele...