INEC Demands Election Expenditure Report From Parties

…Bemoans Emergence Of Candidates Through Court
Rulings

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has again
reminded political parties to furnish the Commission with their
election expenses and contribution reports in line with the
provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

The Commission noted that only seven out of 14 political parties
that participated in the Edo State governorship election had
complied, while only eight out of seventeen that participated in
Ondo State governorship met the demand.

INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, gave the reminder in
his remarks during the quarterly meeting between the Commission and
political parties.

According to him, “may I also draw your attention to your
obligation under Sections 92 (3) and 93(4) of the Electoral Act
2010 (as amended) which require political parties to submit to the
Commission their election expenses reports within six months and
election contribution report within three months after the
declarations of result of an election.

“We have reminded political parties of these obligations in
respect of the Edo and Ondo Governorship elections held last year.
However, only seven out of 14 political parties have responded in
the case of Edo State and 7 out of seventeen for Ondo State. We
wish to remind political parties of the consequences of the failure
to do so as enshrined in the Electoral Act. We therefore expect all
defaulting parties to comply in earnest as you prepare for
forthcoming elections.”

INEC also frowned at the inability of the parties to conduct
rancour free primaries to elect their candidates for elections,
adding that the Commission is pained that party candidates are now
determined by judgment of Courts after winners of elections have
been announced.

“The Commission is not happy that candidates for elections are
now being determined through litigation long after elections have
been concluded and winners declared by INEC. The problem lies
squarely with the conduct of party primaries and nomination of
candidates by some political parties. We urge you to hold
yourselves to the same high standard of free, fair, and credible
elections that you hold INEC in all elections,” Yakubu said.

According to him, “at our last meeting held on 5th February
2021, the main subject matter was our proposal to address the
crisis of voter access to Polling Units in Nigeria. The Commission
proposed to do so by converting the well-known and well-established
voting points and voting point settlements to polling units and
consolidating them with the existing polling units.

“We decided to consult widely with stakeholders. Considering
your central role in our democracy, the Commission began the series
of consultations with leaders of political parties. After extensive
interactions with other stakeholders and fieldwork by officials of
the Commission, the number of polling units and consequently voter
access to them has been substantially enhanced. Nigeria now has
176,846 polling units. Only Wednesday 16th June 2021, the
Commission presented the new polling units to Nigerians and their
distribution nationwide. The list is already uploaded on our
website and social media platforms.

“On behalf of the Commission, I would like to express our
appreciation once again to leaders of political parties for your
support. I want to reassure you that the Commission will continue
to consult you on matters critical to the consolidation of our
electoral process. Infographics containing the summary of the new
distribution of polling units in Nigeria is contained in your
folders for this meeting. We believe that political parties will
use the information in planning for future elections, including the
nomination of your polling agents for elections.”

He continued that, “closely tied to the expansion of voter
access to polling units is the resumption of the Continuous Voter
Registration (CVR), including the creation of a portal that will
enable Nigerians to commence their registration online before
concluding the process physically at designated centres. The
Commission has fixed Monday 28th June 2021 for the exercise to
commence nationwide. The CVR will be a major issue for discussion
at this meeting. The Commission will demonstrate to you how the
proposed online registration will proceed, including a presentation
of the new INEC Voter Enrollment Device (IVED).

“As you are aware, a number of bye-elections and major end of
tenure elections are scheduled to hold before the 2023 General
Election. This weekend, two bye-elections are holding in Kaduna
State for the Sabon Gari State Constituency in which five political
parties are fielding candidates and in Jigawa State for the Gwaram
Federal Constituency where ten political parties are
participating.

“We have concluded all arrangements for these bye-elections,
including the sensitive materials that will arrive today in the two
constituencies. So far, the processes have been rancour-free. We
urge you to appeal to your candidates and supporters to maintain
the current peaceful atmosphere. For the outstanding bye-elections,
I want to assure you that as soon as vacancies are declared by the
Hon. Speaker of the House of Representatives, we will release the
timetable for the Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency of Plateau
State and the Lere Federal Constituency of Kaduna State.

“Again, as you are aware, the Commission has already released
the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Ekiti State
Governorship elections holding on 18th June 2022 and that of Osun
State holding on 16th July 2022. Copies of the timetable have been
sent to your various offices officially, but we have also included
the infographics in your folders for this meeting.

“There purpose of the advanced notice for the two elections is
to provide you and other stakeholders ample time to prepare for the
elections as we have done in similar situations in the past, the
latest being the Anambra Governorship election and the Area Council
election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“In respect of the Anambra State Governorship election, all the
18 political parties have expressed interest to participate and
have scheduled their primaries for the election in line with the
dates provided for in the Timetable released by the Commission.

“In the case of the FCT Area Council elections, political
parties have concluded their primaries for the 68 constituencies
made up of 6 Area Council Chairmen and 62 Councillors. A total of
14 out of 18 political parties have nominated 110 candidates for
Chairmanship/Deputy Chairmanship positions and 362 candidates for
Councillorships. Altogether, 14 political parties have nominated
472 candidates to vie for 68 elective positions in the FCT. An
infographic distribution of the nominations by Area Councils is
included in your folders for this meeting.

“On this note, I would like to remind political parties about
the recent letters written to you by the Commission on the
imperative of complying with the provisions of the law as well as
our regulations governing the conduct of party primaries and
nomination of candidates.

“The Commission is not happy that candidates for elections are
now being determined through litigation long after elections have
been concluded and winners declared by INEC. The problem lies
squarely with the conduct of party primaries and nomination of
candidates by some political parties. We urge you to hold
yourselves to the same high standard of free, fair, and credible
elections that you hold INEC in all elections.

“You must ensure strict compliance with your party
Constitutions, the law and the Commission’s regulations and
guidelines on party primaries in particular and the management of
party affairs in general. After all, Nigerians only exercise their
democratic right to elect leaders from the candidates presented by
political parties. Electing good leaders begins with the quality of
primaries conducted by political parties. We will do our part to
ensure that our elections continue to improve.

“May I also draw your attention to your obligation under
Sections 92 (3) and 93(4) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended)
which require political parties to submit to the Commission their
election expenses reports within six months and election
contribution report within three months after the declarations of
result of an election. We have reminded political parties of these
obligations in respect of the Edo and Ondo Governorship elections
held last year. However, only seven out of 14 political parties
have responded in the case of Edo State and 8 out of seventeen for
Ondo State.

“We wish to remind political parties of the consequences of the
failure to do so as enshrined in the Electoral Act. We therefore
expect all defaulting parties to comply in earnest as you prepare
for forthcoming elections.”

In his address, Chairman Inter-Party Advisory Council, Dr.
Leonard Nzenwa, said the parties are aware of the concerns raised
by the Commission.

According to him, “as party mangers, we have not swept these
concerns under the carpet as we are convinced that why this have
continued to thrive is partly on account of dearth of credible,
quality, patriotic and selfless individuals with impeccable
democratic credentials to drive the push for organic and
representative democracy in the country.

“To this end, the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, which I am
privileged to lead is in advanced partnership discussion stage with
the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Examiners
of Nigeria to help strengthen capacity of political parties to
conduct proper and professional due diligence on aspirants seeking
to contest for various positions under the platforms of the various
parties in the country before and after elections.

“We are hopeful that this effort will yield positive result as
deep professional background checks exercised on aspirants to
ascertain their integrity, credibility and electoral worth before
and after polls with further scrutiny by security agencies and
other stakeholders will help the polity. This will support the
parties to have rancor free party primary.”

…Bemoans Emergence Of Candidates Through Court
Rulings

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has again
reminded political parties to furnish the Commission with their
election expenses and contribution reports in line with the
provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

The Commission noted that only seven out of 14 political parties
that participated in the Edo State governorship election had
complied, while only eight out of seventeen that participated in
Ondo State governorship met the demand.

INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, gave the reminder in
his remarks during the quarterly meeting between the Commission and
political parties.

According to him, “may I also draw your attention to your
obligation under Sections 92 (3) and 93(4) of the Electoral Act
2010 (as amended) which require political parties to submit to the
Commission their election expenses reports within six months and
election contribution report within three months after the
declarations of result of an election.

“We have reminded political parties of these obligations in
respect of the Edo and Ondo Governorship elections held last year.
However, only seven out of 14 political parties have responded in
the case of Edo State and 7 out of seventeen for Ondo State. We
wish to remind political parties of the consequences of the failure
to do so as enshrined in the Electoral Act. We therefore expect all
defaulting parties to comply in earnest as you prepare for
forthcoming elections.”

INEC also frowned at the inability of the parties to conduct
rancour free primaries to elect their candidates for elections,
adding that the Commission is pained that party candidates are now
determined by judgment of Courts after winners of elections have
been announced.

“The Commission is not happy that candidates for elections are
now being determined through litigation long after elections have
been concluded and winners declared by INEC. The problem lies
squarely with the conduct of party primaries and nomination of
candidates by some political parties. We urge you to hold
yourselves to the same high standard of free, fair, and credible
elections that you hold INEC in all elections,” Yakubu said.

According to him, “at our last meeting held on 5th February
2021, the main subject matter was our proposal to address the
crisis of voter access to Polling Units in Nigeria. The Commission
proposed to do so by converting the well-known and well-established
voting points and voting point settlements to polling units and
consolidating them with the existing polling units.

“We decided to consult widely with stakeholders. Considering
your central role in our democracy, the Commission began the series
of consultations with leaders of political parties. After extensive
interactions with other stakeholders and fieldwork by officials of
the Commission, the number of polling units and consequently voter
access to them has been substantially enhanced. Nigeria now has
176,846 polling units. Only Wednesday 16th June 2021, the
Commission presented the new polling units to Nigerians and their
distribution nationwide. The list is already uploaded on our
website and social media platforms.

“On behalf of the Commission, I would like to express our
appreciation once again to leaders of political parties for your
support. I want to reassure you that the Commission will continue
to consult you on matters critical to the consolidation of our
electoral process. Infographics containing the summary of the new
distribution of polling units in Nigeria is contained in your
folders for this meeting. We believe that political parties will
use the information in planning for future elections, including the
nomination of your polling agents for elections.”

He continued that, “closely tied to the expansion of voter
access to polling units is the resumption of the Continuous Voter
Registration (CVR), including the creation of a portal that will
enable Nigerians to commence their registration online before
concluding the process physically at designated centres. The
Commission has fixed Monday 28th June 2021 for the exercise to
commence nationwide. The CVR will be a major issue for discussion
at this meeting. The Commission will demonstrate to you how the
proposed online registration will proceed, including a presentation
of the new INEC Voter Enrollment Device (IVED).

“As you are aware, a number of bye-elections and major end of
tenure elections are scheduled to hold before the 2023 General
Election. This weekend, two bye-elections are holding in Kaduna
State for the Sabon Gari State Constituency in which five political
parties are fielding candidates and in Jigawa State for the Gwaram
Federal Constituency where ten political parties are
participating.

“We have concluded all arrangements for these bye-elections,
including the sensitive materials that will arrive today in the two
constituencies. So far, the processes have been rancour-free. We
urge you to appeal to your candidates and supporters to maintain
the current peaceful atmosphere. For the outstanding bye-elections,
I want to assure you that as soon as vacancies are declared by the
Hon. Speaker of the House of Representatives, we will release the
timetable for the Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency of Plateau
State and the Lere Federal Constituency of Kaduna State.

“Again, as you are aware, the Commission has already released
the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Ekiti State
Governorship elections holding on 18th June 2022 and that of Osun
State holding on 16th July 2022. Copies of the timetable have been
sent to your various offices officially, but we have also included
the infographics in your folders for this meeting.

“There purpose of the advanced notice for the two elections is
to provide you and other stakeholders ample time to prepare for the
elections as we have done in similar situations in the past, the
latest being the Anambra Governorship election and the Area Council
election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“In respect of the Anambra State Governorship election, all the
18 political parties have expressed interest to participate and
have scheduled their primaries for the election in line with the
dates provided for in the Timetable released by the Commission.

“In the case of the FCT Area Council elections, political
parties have concluded their primaries for the 68 constituencies
made up of 6 Area Council Chairmen and 62 Councillors. A total of
14 out of 18 political parties have nominated 110 candidates for
Chairmanship/Deputy Chairmanship positions and 362 candidates for
Councillorships. Altogether, 14 political parties have nominated
472 candidates to vie for 68 elective positions in the FCT. An
infographic distribution of the nominations by Area Councils is
included in your folders for this meeting.

“On this note, I would like to remind political parties about
the recent letters written to you by the Commission on the
imperative of complying with the provisions of the law as well as
our regulations governing the conduct of party primaries and
nomination of candidates.

“The Commission is not happy that candidates for elections are
now being determined through litigation long after elections have
been concluded and winners declared by INEC. The problem lies
squarely with the conduct of party primaries and nomination of
candidates by some political parties. We urge you to hold
yourselves to the same high standard of free, fair, and credible
elections that you hold INEC in all elections.

“You must ensure strict compliance with your party
Constitutions, the law and the Commission’s regulations and
guidelines on party primaries in particular and the management of
party affairs in general. After all, Nigerians only exercise their
democratic right to elect leaders from the candidates presented by
political parties. Electing good leaders begins with the quality of
primaries conducted by political parties. We will do our part to
ensure that our elections continue to improve.

“May I also draw your attention to your obligation under
Sections 92 (3) and 93(4) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended)
which require political parties to submit to the Commission their
election expenses reports within six months and election
contribution report within three months after the declarations of
result of an election. We have reminded political parties of these
obligations in respect of the Edo and Ondo Governorship elections
held last year. However, only seven out of 14 political parties
have responded in the case of Edo State and 8 out of seventeen for
Ondo State.

“We wish to remind political parties of the consequences of the
failure to do so as enshrined in the Electoral Act. We therefore
expect all defaulting parties to comply in earnest as you prepare
for forthcoming elections.”

In his address, Chairman Inter-Party Advisory Council, Dr.
Leonard Nzenwa, said the parties are aware of the concerns raised
by the Commission.

According to him, “as party mangers, we have not swept these
concerns under the carpet as we are convinced that why this have
continued to thrive is partly on account of dearth of credible,
quality, patriotic and selfless individuals with impeccable
democratic credentials to drive the push for organic and
representative democracy in the country.

“To this end, the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, which I am
privileged to lead is in advanced partnership discussion stage with
the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Examiners
of Nigeria to help strengthen capacity of political parties to
conduct proper and professional due diligence on aspirants seeking
to contest for various positions under the platforms of the various
parties in the country before and after elections.

“We are hopeful that this effort will yield positive result as
deep professional background checks exercised on aspirants to
ascertain their integrity, credibility and electoral worth before
and after polls with further scrutiny by security agencies and
other stakeholders will help the polity. This will support the
parties to have rancor free party primary.”