Following the ongoing series of review of the 2019 poll, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, says the Commission has commenced plans for the 2023 general elections.
Prof. Yakubu, who disclosed this on Thursday at the 2019 Post Election Review Meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners in Ikeja, Lagos State, said the Commission was determined to improve the electoral process.
“You would recall that we promised to undertake a comprehensive review of the 2019 general elections internally by way of self-appraisal and externally through wide-ranging consultations with stakeholders.
“In the last one and a half months, we had 11 meetings in Abuja and Lagos on the 2019 general elections. Today’s interaction with the Resident Electoral Commissioners is the 12th meeting so far.
“At the end of these series of meetings and consultations, we are convinced that the Commission will learn vital lessons on the conduct of general elections – successes, challenges and the way forward.
“We consider these necessary because as a Commission, we are committed to the improvement of the nation’s electoral process.
“We are convinced that immediately after the conclusion of one election, planning for the next election should quickly be in earnest. This is precisely what we are doing in this series of engagement,” Yakubu said.
He said that the commission was confident and had high hope that the RECs just like the other stakeholders would also rise to the occasion.
According to him, the first meeting in the series was held in Abuja with RECs, commission’s officials, all electoral officers in the 774 LGAs, leaders of political parties, the media, civil society organisations and security agencies among others.
The INEC boss added that since July 8 in Lagos, the commission had met with the media, exclusively, the line editors, editors and producers as well as collation and returning officers in its bid to improving electoral process.
“We have met the Vice Chancellors of Federal Universities who served as state collation officers for the Presidential Election and returning officers in the governorship elections as well as some senior academic who served as returning officers in some constituencies.
“We have met with all our administrative secretaries from all the state of the federations and FCT and the last meeting yesterday, we heard from the 20 departments and directorates in the commission’s headquarters in Abuja,” he said.