The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed concerns about the rising insecurity in Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi. As a result, the commission has once again appealed to political parties and their candidates to refrain from engaging in actions or making statements that could exacerbate the political climate.
“The commission is alarmed by the increasing levels of insecurity and violence, including clashes among the supporters of political parties and their candidates in the upcoming elections. In our ongoing discussions with political parties, we have consistently urged them to restrain their supporters from activities that could jeopardize the peaceful conduct of elections in Nigeria,” stated Sam Olumekun, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, in a recent statement.
Olumekun also pointed out that the commission had already notified all political parties about the launch of its online portal for submitting the lists of polling unit and collation center agents, which began on Thursday, August 24, 2023. Despite these notifications and subsequent reminders, political parties have not fully complied by submitting the required agent lists.
“In the case of Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi States, only 55% of the expected total of 189,180 polling unit agents have been uploaded to the designated INEC portal. Specifically, 29,278 out of the expected 40,372 (72.5%) for Bayelsa State; 51,681 out of 85,644 (60.3%) for Imo; and 23,720 out of 63,144 (37.6%) for Kogi have been uploaded,” Olumekun reported.
He further noted that only 25.1% of the expected 15,804 Collation Agents in the three states have been uploaded, with 1,246 (26.0%) out of 4,806 for Bayelsa; 1,638 (27.3%) out of 5,994 for Imo, and 1,095 (21.9%) out of 5,004 for Kogi State.
The commission emphasized that the portal would automatically close at 12:00 midnight on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, with no extension planned. Therefore, all political parties sponsoring candidates for the elections that have not yet submitted the lists of their agents must do so before the specified deadline.
Additionally, the accreditation process for journalists began on August 24, 2023, and will conclude on October 22, 2023. So far, 45 media organizations have applied for accreditation. INEC encouraged all interested media organizations to apply through the provided online platform before the October 22, 2023, deadline. It was emphasized that late applications would not be accepted, and manual accreditation would no longer be available.