By Ibrahim Suleiman
The Independent National Electoral Commission-INEC has sought for the support of traditional institutions in the North-west zone for the successful conduct of next year’s general elections.
Chairman of the Commission, Professor Joash Amupitan who led the delegation of National Commissioners and Management to the Emir of Zazzau, said the support of the traditional institution was indispensable to the success of the exercise.
Professor Joash Amupitan explained that the Commission deliberately decided to begin its engagement in the North-west from Zazzau Emirate in view of its role as the citadel of knowledge and culture, as well as a cornerstone of national stability.
According to him, the visitation to Zazzau was in continuation of INEC’s tradition of engaging traditional rulers, having previously visited the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, the Ooni of Ife, the Ataoja of Osogbo and the Oba of Lagos in off-cycle elections and zonal engagements.
He said while technology and logistics were necessary, the guarantee for peaceful elections lies in the hearts and minds of citizens, hence the need to seek the support of traditional institutions, who are custodians of public trust at the grassroots.
The Chairman disclosed that the Commission was already auditing and strengthening its administrative, technological and logistic frameworks across the 36 states and the FCT to ensure a free, fair, credible and transparent process.
He observed that conducting elections with over 103 million registered voters require early planning, operational discipline and robust stakeholder engagement, stressing that INEC has moved away from last-minute rushing.
Professor Amupitan therefore urged the Emirate Council to mobilize citizens to participate in all stages of the electoral process, especially the forthcoming permanent voter card collection exercise.
Responding, the Emir of Zazzau, Ambassador Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli advised the Commission to address recurring challenges, such as late distribution of election materials and malfunctioning of the bimodal voter accreditation system -BVAS.
He also advocated for the testing of the devices before deployment to polling units to enhance public confidence in the process.
The Emir assured that the Emirate would continue to sensitize its subjects to be law-abiding, shun hate speech and promote peace before, during and after the elections.
Ambassador Ahmed Bamalli commended INEC’s commitment to fairness, justice and level playing field for all parties, and urged the Commission to ensure a secure environment, timely dissemination of information and prompt declaration of results.
Editing by Khadija Kubau
