The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said it has withdrawn 25 certificates of return issued to some candidates who won the 2019 General Elections.
The Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Mr Festus Okoye, who stated this at a “Forum on Media Coverage of 2019 General Elections” held in Enugu on Monday, said the commission complied with court order.
Okoye noted that 20 of the 25 certificates-of-return were withdrawn from All Progressives Congress, APC, members to other APC members; while two from Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, members were withdrawn to other PDP members.
He said that the other three were withdrawn from APC and PDP and given to other political parties.
“Before we left INEC national headquarters on Friday, the commission has withdrawn 25 certificates-of-return from the first owners to their new owners following court orders to do that,’’ he said.
Okoye, however, lauded the media for its openness and robust engagement with the commission before, during and after the election, adding that the media had become critical stakeholders for the continual success of future elections.
He noted that the media had become the first line of reach of the masses as well as platform for explanation of INEC political and electoral decisions. Every strategic information in governance must be beneficial to government–Ukah (Opens in a new browser tab) Okoye also called on the media and its practitioners to dig deep on the electoral Act to ensure that import of the recent amended sections are made known to the public.
“The media should also centre on the aspect of using Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR, to resolve electoral issues especially at the party levels instead of going to the court,’’ he advised.
In a welcome address, Dr Emeka Ononamadu, the INEC Enugu State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, noted that evaluation of processes of the elections would help better the electoral processes as well as strengthen institutions and stakeholders involved in the entire processes.
“INEC wants to hear from the media, security agencies, civil society organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations etc on how the election fared. Whether there are avenues to improve on what we have.
“So, INEC is open to receive your objective deliberations and its outcome and we definitely take a critical look at your outcomes in order to better the electoral processes,’’ Ononamadu assured.
Speaking, Mr Chris Isiguzo, President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, said that the media and its practitioners enjoyed a vast and robust consultations and meetings with INEC before, during and after the elections.
“However, we are here to evaluate the entire process and see where we can strengthen our engagement and better the electoral system,” he said.
