INEC holds retreat for 10 newly inducted RECs

Urges them to uphold ideals of credible elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, organised a retreat for 10 new Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).

It urged the RECs to commit themselves to quality service delivery by upholding the ideals of credible elections in Nigeria.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who gave the charge during the induction of the new RECs in Lagos, said the retreat aimed to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to conduct credible elections.

Yakubu said that INEC would remain committed to transparent and inclusive electoral processes, as well as pushing the boundaries of credible and inclusive elections in Nigeria.

The INEC chairman said that in preparing the RECs for the task ahead, there’s no election season in Nigeria.

He said: “Elections are held all year round in addition to numerous electoral activities, such as voter registration. Even today’s retreat is holding against the background of forthcoming governorship elections in Edo State in the next 81 days and Ondo State in the next 137 days.

“In addition, there are five pending by-elections. These outstanding by-elections bring the total of such elections to 14 since the inauguration of the national and state assemblies in June last year.

“Looking forward, there are four major elections before the next general election in 2027. The Anambra State governorship election next year will be followed in 2026 by the Ekiti and Osun State governorship elections.

“Therefore, as we think, reflect and innovate for credible elections, we are also instantly implementing the reforms and innovations that we can introduce by administrative action. Since election is a process governed by law, we also plan to intensify our engagement with the National Assembly for activities that require legal reform.”

Mahmood said that two of the 10 new RECs, who will be overseeing the off-cycle elections in Edo and Ondo states, had been properly inducted and are not entirely new to election administration.

He, therefore, charged the RECs to continue to work on improving the process.

On his part, Lagos State REC, Prof. Ayobami Salami, emphasised the significance of the new REC’s role in overseeing and supervising the commission’s activities in their respective states.

He encouraged them to deliver transparent, credible, and acceptable electoral processes, devoid of bias and partisanship.