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INEC Seeks Review of SIECs’ Laws

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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