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Tag: Mahmood Yakubu

  • 2019: INEC removes over 300,000 names from voter register

    2019: INEC removes over 300,000 names from voter register

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it had removed over 300,000 names from its voter register as at last week, as the commission continued preparations for 2019 general elections.

    INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this when he received a delegation of ECOWAS Pre-Election Fact Finding Mission, led by the Chairman of Sierra Leone’s National Electoral Commission, Mohamed Conteh, on Monday in Abuja.

    Yakubu said that the names were removed from the register after Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) was carried out on the biometry data of registered voters.

    He said that the commission had started the cleaning up of the register, adding that the commission would between Nov. 6 and Nov. 12 display register of voters nationwide for claims and objections.

    The INEC Chairman urged Nigerians to make use of the opportunity to assist the commission to identify names of ineligible voters for further clean-up.

    “For the registered voters, we have been cleaning up on our own, using the AFIS. As at last week, before I traveled, I was told that over 300,000 names were dropped after the automatic fingerprints identification system.

    “But the cleaning of the voter register is not the sole responsibility of the commission; it is also the responsibility of every Nigerian.

    “ That is why the law says that we should display the register for a period of six days between Nov. 6 and Nov. 12. We will display the voter register in 120, 000 polling units nationwide.

    “I will like to use this opportunity to appeal to the citizens to check when we display the register, so that they can draw the attention of the commission to the prevalence of any ineligible voter on the register so that we can further clean up the register.’’

    Yakubu told the mission that INEC was well prepared for the 2019 general elections, saying it had passed the planning stage, and was now on implementation of the line-up activities for the elections.

    “In fact we can say that the 2019 general election is perhaps the most deliberately well planned election in our history.

    “We have finished the strategic planning; we have finished our strategic programme of action; and we have completed the election project plan. We have issued the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2019 general elections.

    Yakubu also disclosed that the commission would by Nov. 9 or Nov. 10 release statistics of political parties that nominated candidates for governorship elections to be conducted in 29 states and the State Houses of Assembly in all states.

    Speaking earlier, leader of the mission, Conteh, said that they were in Nigeria to gather relevant information and see how prepared INEC was for the general elections.

    “This is a fact-finding mission to the Federal Republic of Nigeria ahead of the elections.

    “As you are aware that it is common before we start any election, organisations such as ECOWAs come and see the conducting under which election is conducted and gather information in respect of the elections

    “More importantly, meet with you as a major stakeholder, as Election Management Body that is responsible for conduct of election to discuss with you and see how prepared you are for the election,’’ he said.

    Conteh thanked ECOWAS, ECONEC and the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the assistant rendered to Serial Leone during its elections conducted in April.

    Another member of the delegation and former Chairperson of Ghana’s Electoral Commission, Dr Remi Ajibewa, said that the mission would use the visit to meet with other electoral stakeholders in the country.

    These, according to her, include security agencies, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and political parties to ensure the conduct of free, fair and credible elections in 2019.

     

  • Breaking: INEC presents certificates to 23 new political parties

    Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu on Thursday presented certificates of registration to 23 newly registered political parties.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the INEC Boss presented the certificates to the newly registered political parties at the Commission’s conference hall in Abuja.

    The registration of the 23 new political parties brings to 91 the total number of political parties in the country.

    Meanwhile, the Commission had extended deadline for continuous voters registration to 31st August.

    The commission initially said it would suspend the exercise on August 17 until after the 2019 general elections.

    “The exercise will continue in all the designated registration centres every day, including weekends, but excluding public holidays, between 9am and 5pm,” the Commission stated.

    The Commission further informed that the ongoing collection of permanent voters card (PVCs) will not end with the CVR exercise.

    “Collection of PVCs will continue until close to the general elections,” the Commission said.

     

  • Breaking: INEC Chairman provides motive behind N242bn 2019 election budget

    Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr. Mahmood Yakubu on Wednesday defended its proposed N242 billion budget for the 2019 election before Senate Committee on INEC.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports that at the 2019 general elections budget presentation, the INEC Chairman acknowledged that it was the first time that the budget is presented in this manner.

    “For the first time, this budget is subjected to scrutiny by the National Assembly and the Nigerian people. I am happy to be a part of this process,” he said.

    The INEC Boss said that as at Saturday, the commission registered 12.1 new voters.

    “Adding this to the 70 million voter register, we have over 80 million registered voters. In 2015, we had 70 million registered voters. As of last week Saturday, we now have over 80 million registered voters.

    “There is a difference of N69 billion in the budgets of 2015 and 2019. All major activities are pegged against the total number of voters.

    “In 2015, we had only 42 political parties. We now have 91 registered political parties eligible to take part in the 2019 general elections.

    “The cost of logistics is also different in 2019 as opposed to 2015, because the pump price of petrol in 2015 is different from that of 2019. This will also have an impact.

    “With the increase of voters, we will have to increase the number of voting points. And with the increase of voting points, we will also have an increase in Ad-Hoc Staff.

    “We have provided a line-by-line explanation and account of this budget to the Distinguished Senators,” the INEC Chairman said.

    TNG reports Chairman of Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Suleiman Nazif, after the defence, gave an opportunity for all members of the Senate Committee to ask questions.

    Here are some highlights of the Senate committee meeting with the INEC chairman:

    “Continuous voter registration is of great importance to Nigerians. Without which you cannot excercise your right to vote. Mr. Chairman, in the 2018 budget, we made provision for this process and I believe that this funds are supposed to run till the end of the year.”- Senator Suleiman Nazif.

    “Mr. Chairman, in item 39, you have budget N5bn+ for this continuous voter registration. Mr. Chairman, if you were provided with funds in the 2018 budget, why is this provision repeated?”- Senator Suleiman Nazif.

    “The electoral act demands that we continue voter registration. Based on the budgetary provision in 2017, we could only do PVC registration at the LGA level.”- INEC Chairman.

    “By the end of the Second Quarter of 2017, we had over 1400 registration centers across the country.”- INEC Chairman.

    “The funds we had were not adequate. This is why in 2018, we approached the National Assembly for additional funding.”- INEC Chairman.

    “The Electoral Act Amendment has been going back and forth between the National Assembly and the President. What would happen to the provisions of the Act that have been budgeted for if it is not signed by the President?”- Senator James Manager.

    “Your contingency budget provisions have been cut down. I am surprised that you have decided to cut this down to only 2.5% of the budget. What informed this thinking?”- Senator James Manager.

    “If the Electoral Act is not signed into law, we will continue to operate within the ambits of the law as it exists.”- INEC Chairman.

    “Even if the Electoral Act is not signed into law, we need to continue to improve our electoral process to promote transparency.”- INEC Chairman.

    “Why is our contingency low? If it had been 10%, it would have been considered too high. Now it is 2.5%, it is too low. However, there are some contingencies that we need to expect.”- INEC Chairman.

    “There is a conflict of request here: from the letter presented by Mr. President and the budget presented by INEC. You are asking for N189billion, meanwhile Mr. President is asking for N140billion.”- Senator Mohammed Hassan.

    “The President is saying that the additional N45billion will be requested for in the 2019 budget. You are asking for N189billion. Which of these requests should we focus on?”- Senator Mohammed Hassan.

    “There is no conflict in the letters. If you add up the requests by the President and INEC, they add up. The sequence of disbursement is up for the legislature and the executive to decide.”- INEC Chairman.

     

  • NCC, INEC review committee report on 2019 election

    NCC, INEC review committee report on 2019 election

    Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) have met to review the outcome of the report of the joint committee set up early in the year on electronic transmission and collation of results.

    Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman, NCC, after the meeting with the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Thursday, described the forum “as a huge step toward entrenching free, fair and credible elections in the country’’.

    He said the joint committee set up seven months ago by the two agencies had worked hard to produce a document on the basis of which elections could be conducted in a manner conducive, credible and transparent.

    “This can only be done by leveraging the power of Information Communications Technology.

    “ So this is to bring to bear global best practices in the way and manner elections are being conducted all over the world,” he said.

    On his part, the INEC chairman expressed delight with the way NCC picked up the gauntlet thrown by the INEC and the joint committee.

    “When we started we were clear in our minds that we must challenge every national institution to contribute towards free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.

    “We are happy that the NCC has risen to this challenge and we look forward to implementing these recommendations.

    “If there are other areas we need your collaborations we hope you will remain open to us to do so.

    “But we are very happy that one major national institution has been challenged and has risen to the challenge,” he said.

    In January, NCC and INEC, in a deal acclaimed to “have the potential of playing a major role in the outcome of future elections in the country reached an agreement on the electronic transmission of results in the 2019 general elections’’.

    The meeting had in attendance Mr Ubale Maska , Executive Commissioner Technical Services (EC-TS) of NCC, , national commissioners of INEC and senior managers of the two agencies.

     

  • 2019: Again NCC, INEC meet over general elections

    2019: Again NCC, INEC meet over general elections

    Efforts toward free, fair and credible elections next year have received another major boost yesterday, as the leadership of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) met to review the outcome of the report of the joint committee they set up early this year on electronic transmission and collation of results.

    The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC who spoke after the meeting, which had in attendance the INEC boss, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, the Executive Commissioner Technical Services (EC-TS) of the NCC, Engr Ubale Maska, national commissioners of the electoral body and top echelon staff of both the two agencies, described it as a huge step toward entrenching free, fair and credible elections in the country.

    “Remember this joint committee was set up 7 months ago. They’ve worked hard, and the whole idea was to produce a document on the basis of which elections can be conducted in a manner that’s conducive, credible, and of course, transparent. This can only be done by leveraging the power of Information Communications Technology. So this is to bring to bear global best practices in the way and manner elections are being conducted all over the world,” he stated.

    Earlier, Yakubu had expressed his delight with the way the Prof Danbatta-led NCC picked up the gauntlet thrown by the INEC as well as the efforts of the joint committee of the two organizations’

    “When we started we were clear in our minds that we must challenge every national institution to contribute towards free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria. We are happy that the NCC has risen to this challenge.

    “And we look forward to implementing these recommendations. If there are other areas we need your collaborations we hope you will remain open to us to do so. But we are very happy that one major national institution has been challenged and has risen to the challenge,” he noted.

    It could be recalled that in January this year, the NCC and INEC, in a deal acclaimed to have the potential of playing a major role in the outcome of future elections in the country reached an agreement on the electronic transmission of results in the 2019 general election.

     

  • Mahmood briefs NASS leadership on INEC’s budget for 2019 general elections

    Mahmood briefs NASS leadership on INEC’s budget for 2019 general elections

    Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Wednesday briefed Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara at a Special Hearing on INEC’s budget for the 2019 general elections.

    TheNewsGuru reports Senate President Saraki had earlier in his opening remarks at a World Press Conference he addressed in Abuja said the National Assembly was prepared to do what is necessary to ensure that the 2019 elections held without any hitch.

    “We stand committed to doing our utmost as lawmakers to ensure that the responsibility and functionality of governance are met. Although we are on annual break, we are daily reviewing the situation and are alive to the responsibility to take action as necessary,” he said.

    He said that the National Assembly meeting with INEC leadership would have held on Tuesday but for the occupation of the NASS complex by security operatives from the Department of State Services.

    “Unfortunately, yesterday’s shutdown prevented us from meeting with INEC, as scheduled, to address funding concerns. We will continue to look into the matter,” Saraki said.

    He also appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to append signature on the 2018 Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

    “In the spirit of that, we also appeal to Mr. President to sign the 2018 Electoral Act Amendment Bill which has been sent for his assent.

    “I remain confident in the support of my colleagues and their focus on the job at hand, which is to serve the Nigerian people.

    “My confidence is unshaken. I remain committed to the success of the historic 8th National Assembly, and to the continued progress of our country,” he said.

     

  • BREAKING: Court orders arrest of INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu

    BREAKING: Court orders arrest of INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu

    A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the arrest of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, for failing to appear in court.

    Justice Stephen Pam issued the warrant of arrest on Thursday after Mahmood’s absent in court for the third time.

    Justice Pam had on July 5 ordered Yakubu to appear before him to show cause why he should not be sent to prison for contempt of court.

    The judge made the order for Mahmood to appear before it while ruling on a preliminary objection by INEC and its Chairman in a contempt proceeding filed by Ejike Oguebego and Chuks Okoye, Chairman and Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State, respectively.

    Five days later, on July 10 when the court sat again, the INEC boss did not appear before the court.

    The trial judge asked the police to effect the arrest immediately.

    Justice Pam had at the last three sittings ordered the INEC chairman to appear before the court to show cause as to why he should not be committed to prison for contempt.

    The INEC chairman is however yet to respond to the court’s ruling.

  • INEC receives Facebook team ahead of 2019 general elections

    Ahead of 2019 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday received a Facebook team led by its Head Of Public Policy for Africa, Ebele Okobi at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

    Facebook offered to explore avenues with the commission that could help expand voters’ education and engage citizens meaningfully to achieve peaceful general elections in 2019.

    The social networking giant made this offer having noticed that topics Nigerians mostly shared on its platform bordered on elections and politics

    Facebook, which noted that it has a membership base of 2.1 billion worldwide and 80 million from Nigeria, discovered that “people care very deeply about how they are governed, about who governs them and other political issues”.

    “Knowing that people come to the platform to talk about what they care about, we have developed a politics and government programme essentially to understand how our platform is being used, not just during elections, but also to help governments engage with their citizens and also to see what the risks related to our platform in elections are and what opportunities and programmes can be put in place to address the risks,” Okobi told INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and members of his commission.

    The Facebook Head disclosed that the company was open to ideas on how best it could improve its services and the electoral processes in Africa, particularly in Nigeria.

    Responding, the INEC boss, Yakubu told the team that organizing and conducting elections was a huge responsibility for the commission and comes with enormous risks.

    “A good election, I have always said, is a recipe for peace and a poorly conducted election could lead to violence and civil war. And part of it is the perception some people create on the social media,” he said.

    He acknowledged the large following the electoral body enjoy on Facebook, which he said is the largest among election management bodies in Africa, and underscored its potentials for engaging citizens, disseminating information and dispelling fake news for peaceful elections.

    While acknowledging that Facebook has become one of the veritable means of interacting with the public, Yakubu said, “I think more people now get their news from the social media than the traditional media”.

    The INEC chairman thanked Facebook for pulling down fake pages of the commission from its platform just as it commended, “the social media giant” for also putting mechanisms for checking hate speech and fake news in place.

    He said the commission looked forward to working with Facebook in ensuring that the voting population gets the best to help them make informed choices at the polls.

     

  • JUST IN: PDP seeks resignation of INEC Chairman, Yakubu

    The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has passed a vote of no confidence on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, asking him to resign.

    This is coming after tainted voters’ register was used to conduct recent elections in Kano and Katsina states that allegedly had underaged voters, the PDP said.

    The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, called for Yakubu’s resignation at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday.

    He asked that the electoral commission Chairman to immediately commence the cleaning of the voters’ register in the two states with the help of credible stakeholders or vacate his office.

    The PDP said with the current state of underaged voters, INEC cannot be trusted to conduct free, fair and credible polls in next year’s general election except the register is cleaned up.

    The spokesman also described as illegal and unacceptable the partnership between INEC and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on plans to start monitoring the campaign funds of political parties as that responsibility only belongs to the electoral commission.

     

  • INEC to decide on political associations seeking registration Wednesday

    INEC to decide on political associations seeking registration Wednesday

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would on Wednesday disclose its decision on political associations seeking to be registered as political parties.

    Chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen at ongoing workshop to review INEC’s Communication Policy, on Monday in Abuja.

    Yakubu said the decision would be made public after the commission meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) scheduled for Wednesday in Kaduna.

    “Let me assure Nigerians that under the Electoral Act, the commission is required to register new political parties and the guidelines are very clear for registration.

    “As at last week we received 95 applications for registration as new political parties.

    “At the end of this workshop there is going to be a retreat on Wednesday to review the ongoing voter registration, followed by a meeting of the commission here in Kaduna.

    “There will be a statement on parties after the meeting of the commission,” Yakubu said.

    He added that the commission would on Wednesday also give an update on the ongoing nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), after the commission’s meeting with the field officers to review the exercise

    “We will do a mid-quarter review after six weeks and the mid-quarter review will come up here in Kaduna and we will issue our statement here after.”

    Yakubu also disclosed that the commission would extend the CVR in Anambra to ward levels ahead of the state governorship election.

    He added that people who registered in the state before the first quarter 2017 would obtain their Permanent​ Voter Cards (PVCs) before the state governorship election.

    “We will soon announce the date for the commencement of the exercise.

    “So those who have registered under the current CVR and those who will register when we devolve to ward level will all have their PVCs ahead of the election.

    “For those who have registered and are going to vote in Anambra, I want to assure them that they will have their cards. It is for those who have done it in the first quarter of this year.”

    On the pending senatorial district election in Anambra, the chairman said that specific date was yet to be fixed for the election as the case was still in court.

    “You know the matter is before the Court of Appeal.

    “A date was fixed, May 30, but at the court, one of the parties prayed for adjournment to June 12 or June 13.”