INEC seeks review of SIECs’ laws, financial independence – TheNigerialawyer

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has called for
a review of the laws governing the State Independent Electoral
Commissions (SIECs).

Its Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, made the called on
Thursday in Abuja while hosting members of the Forum of State
Independent Electoral Commissions of Nigeria (FOSIECON).

He said the review should make the SIECs align with INEC
stipulations.
The INEC chairman stressed that besides making the rules guiding
the to conform with those of the INEC, SIECs should also have their
financial independence to make them truly free of external
manipulations and to deliver their statutory duties
objectively.

“We need modern law to guide and to govern the conduct of local
government elections in the country, especially one that draws to a
considerable extent from the national electoral legal
framework.

“The second issue we need to work together on is the
independence of the SEICs. Independence of SIECs cannot be
guaranteed where there is no financial independence. We will look
at whatever we can do to ensure financial independence for the SIEC
that will enormously help the conduct of elections,” he said.

Yakubu noted that though INEC was not involved in the conduct of
local government elections, the commission had been a partner with
the SIECs in several ways.

He said these include the provision of voters’ register and
voting cubicles to the latter in the conduct of such elections.

The INEC boss, who stressed the need for continuous interaction
between the two electoral bodies, said they met in February 2018
and discussed the need for regular interaction and others critical
issues that must be straightened out.

“We discussed the need for resuscitation and reconstitution of
our interactive committee so that we can continue to interact in a
deeper way. We need to do this as soon as possible to enable the
committee resume work, review and strengthen our Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) and to plan our joint conference, which is
proposed to take place in the first quarter of 2020,” Yakubu
said.

FOSIECON and Abia State SIEC Chairman, Justice Igbozuruike
Akomas, said his group was at INEC headquarters for the
implementation of the MoU and proposals made during the meeting
between the two electoral bodies on February 21, 2018.

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