…says one week postponement of 2019 General Elections regrettable
By Deborah Hassan
Immediate past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has urged the National Assembly to pass the amended Electoral Act Bill before the end of the first quarter of 2021.
Speaking on Thursday while undergoing screening by the Senate Committee on INEC at the National Assembly, following his nomination by President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term, he described the one-week postponement of the general elections in 2019 as one of the most challenging periods of his headship of the commission.
The Red Chamber on Wednesday considered the request of President Muhammadu Buhari to confirm Yakubu as chairman of the nation’s electoral umpire and referred it to the Senate Committee on INEC for further legislative action.
Speaking at the screening session by the Sen. Kabiru Gaya-led committee, Yakubu told the senators that the timely passage of the Bill would go a long way in ensuring the success of the 2023 general elections – especially if several areas referred by the commission for amendments are passed.
“I want to appeal to the Senate to please expedite work on the Electoral Act so that we can conduct elections in an atmosphere of certainty….I hope you will give us the Electoral Act by the end of first quarter of 2021.”
Reflecting on his first tenure, Yakubu revealed that the most notable challenge he faced in his five-year stay was the abrupt rescheduling of the 2019 General Elections.
“One of the most was having to postpone, for a week, the 2019 general elections. It was a most painful decision but learning from that, we are working very fast to ensure that it doesn’t happen again as we approach 2023. We have learnt a lot and elections are getting better,” he said.
Speaking on improved use of technology in elections, the erstwhile INEC boss stated that the commission would explore other ways in which the electoral process could benefit from technology.
Yakubu:“The Commission has the largest data of citizens in Africa, we have introduced several portals for nomination of candidates, accreditation of journalists and observers for election.
“One of the portals is for the offload of results from polling units. We have also improved accreditation for people with physical disability including albinos. We have also tried to do accreditation for people displaced in IDPs.”
He also assured that the procurement of materials needed for elections will be done timeously to ensure smooth voting process.
Yakubu was first appointed in November 2015, taking over from Professor Attahiru Jega. He superintended the 2019 General Polls, as well as other off-season elections.