Burning Of INEC Offices Shows Need For Passage Of Electoral Act–Protesters At NASS

A group of civil society organizations under the auspices of #occupynass on Wednesday staged a peaceful protest at the National Assembly premises.

The group, which carried placards with inscriptions reading “Delaying The Passage of Electoral Act 2021 Is A Threat To Democracy,” among others, asked lawmakers to speedily pass the already amended law to allow for smooth elections.

Chanting solidarity songs, they said that the delay in the passage of the law will hamper the conduct of future elections.

One of the protesters, Isaac Arrere, told THE WHISTLER that “it was time INEC moved away from analogue storage of election related materials such as voter register, to digital storage.”

According to him, the current destruction of INEC offices in parts of the country should be a wake up call to the nation to see the need for electronic management of the country’s electoral process.

INEC offices have become targets of attack by unknown arsonists in the Southeast and South-South parts of the country.

With less than two years to the February 18 date for the conduct of the 2023 general elections, INEC has also expressed worries at the delay in the passage of the amended Act.

Last month, INEC national chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, said the commission was “anxious to know the legal framework to govern the conduct of the 2023 general elections.”