The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) has expressed concern that if the incessant attacks on its facilities are not well checked, it could overwhelmed the commission, and cause setback for the forthcoming general elections.
Penpushing reports that, the Chairman of the Commission, Mahmood Yakubu expressed the concern on Friday at an investigative hearing by an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives investigating the attacks on the facilities of the commission.
The Chairman, however, warned that there must be concerted efforts to stop the attacks which could overwhelm the commission if allowed to continue, stressing that continuous attacks on the facilities of the commission may render it unprepared for the 2023 general election.
‘Should such attacks continue at the pace at which they are happening at the moment, the Commission may find it increasingly difficult to recover in time for the election? If it is about stopping the attacks, yes we can recover, but if the attacks continue it would be very difficult for the commission to recover. That is why concerted efforts to stop these attacks have become imperative and we hope this public hearing would contribute to the required outcome,” he said.
Penpushing further reports that, Yakubu told the lawmakers that the commission cannot bear further attacks on its facilities ahead of the elections on 25 February and 11 March, recalling that there have been renewed attacks on commission’s facilities in some parts of the country.
‘In the past couple of months, the commission’s offices were attacked in Osun, Ogun, Ebonyi, Imo, and Anambra States. In several instances, the facilities were burnt down by arsonists, while in some cases, personnel were attacked by armed men’.
Penpushing also reports that, during his presentation, Yakubu explained that the commission has been able to replace damaged assets in the recent attacks, but that it cannot bear further attacks, just as he disclosed that the commission will use rented spaces as an alternative to the facilities burnt down by the attackers.
The commission boss, speaking further during the hearing,on the destroyed Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) assured that the commission will print new Permanent Voter Cards(PVCs) to ensure that no one is disenfranchised.
“Several materials lost would have to be replaced. In the recent attacks, some of the PVCs for instance were lost. But for the PVCs, we have instructed our state offices to send the Voter Identification Numbers of the PVCs lost so we can reprint them. We can from our database quickly regenerate and reprint the cards so that citizens are not disenfranchised,” he said.
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