TheCable

Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says the continued attacks on its offices may affect voter registration.

Over the past weeks, some INEC offices have witnessed a spate of attacks, leading to the destruction of some sensitive and non-sensitive materials.

The commission had scheduled June 28, 2021 for the resumption of the continuous voter registration (CVR) exercise.

Speaking on the development, Yakubu, during a meeting with resident electoral commissioners on Wednesday, said the attacks have challenged the commission’s commitment to improving the electoral process.

The INEC chairman noted that replacing the burnt facilities, considering the current economic realities will be a “tall order”.

He said the commission will meet with security agencies on May 24 to address the security challenges.

“In the light of the current circumstances, today’s meeting with RECs, who lead our offices in the states, will take briefings from across the country on threats to INEC facilities and deliberate on how best to protect them,” Yakubu said.

“I believe that we can dig deep and draw from the commission’s long standing partnership with communities in this regard, in addition to depending on the invaluable support of our security agencies.

“Consequently, the challenges posed by these threats notwithstanding, we are still positive that we can find lasting solutions to the spate of attacks on our facilities.

“However, this must be done quickly to forestall disruptions to several upcoming electoral activities, particularly the CVR exercise which we plan to undertake continuously in 2,673 centres nationwide for a period of over one year involving thousands of INEC officials supported by security personnel.

“The commission will certainly work with the security agencies to deal with the perpetrators of these heinous crimes according to the law. To this end, a meeting with all the security agencies is holding on Monday 24th May 2021.”