The Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Connected Development (CODE) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct Saturday’s election in a way that will restore Nigerians’ trust in the commission.
Mr. Hamzat Lawal, CODE’s Chief Executive, made the announcement on Thursday at a news conference in Abuja, ahead of the March 18 governorship and House of Assembly elections.
Lawal stated that through its Uzabe election observation platform, the group had trained and deployed 20,000 observers for the 2023 elections.
He urged INEC to use Saturday’s election to repair its image by ensuring that the issues that harmed the credibility of the Feb. 25 Presidential election were resolved.
“With the deployment of Uzabe technology for election observation, we recorded many cases of widespread irregularities.
“We hope that these issues have been tackled by INEC and that come March 18, citizens will be allowed to exercise their civic duty without unnecessary hitches and glitches.
“There’s also cause to point out that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and IREV technologies put a lot of faith in the electorate and this forthcoming election is another opportunity for INEC to ensure that their technology is functional.
INEC should also ensure that its guidelines on the usage of BVAS are adhered to; this is a call to INEC to restore the citizens’ confidence in our democracy. ”
According to Lawal, another crucial issue to address in the forthcoming election is the percentage of voters recorded for Presidential and National elections.
He said that at 27 per cent, Nigeria recorded its lowest voter turnout in spite of recording a total of 87.2 million Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) collected.
Lawal said that reports from CODEs observers indicated there were many cases of technical disenfranchisement across the country such as lack of materials and late arrival of INEC officials at polling units.
He said that the proposed Oro festival announced by the traditional ruler of Ikate-Elegushi Kingdom in Lagos State, Saheed Ademola, might disenfranchise voters.
Lawal, therefore, called on the Lagos State government and law enforcement agencies to address and put a stop to any activity that could threaten the turnout of the voters on election day.
Meanwhile, Mr. Emmanuel Njoku, Director, Democracy and Governance, CODE, called on Nigerians to pay attention to the collation of results at the ward level to tackle fraud.
According to him, the ward is the most important link in the collation process.
Njoku said that the claim by some politicians that there was no law making it mandatory for INEC to transmit electoral results electronically was false.
” Section 148 of the Electoral Act, gives the electoral body the power to make guidelines and regulations to ensure the full effect of the law.
“Section 60 (5) of the Act states that the presiding officer shall transfer the results including the total number of accredited voters and the results of the ballot in a manner as prescribed by the commission.”
Njoku urged INEC to ensure that results were uploaded to its IREV portal in order to boost the credibility of the governorship and State House of Assembly elections on March 18.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
