INEC fixes dates for signing of peace accord, BVAS test-run

Ahead of the Edo State governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission has announced that the signing of the peace accord will be held on September 12, 2024, in Benin City.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who announced this during a meeting with political parties held in Abuja on Thursday, provided crucial updates on preparations for the election.

The agency also said Mock Accreditation exercise will take place on September 10 to test BVAS deployment and result uploads.

The signing of the peace accord organised in collaboration with the National Peace Committee aims to ensure a peaceful and credible electoral process.

“After consultation with the National Peace Committee under the leadership of our respected former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar GCFR, the signing of the Peace Accord for the Edo State governorship election will take place on Thursday, September 12, 2024, in Benin City. Supported by eminent members of the Peace Committee, the occasion will be presided over by the Chairman, General Abdulsalami Abubakar.

“You may notice that unlike the previous peace accords signed a few days before the election, it was decided to do so early this time around to enable the Peace Committee to monitor compliance with the code voluntarily signed by parties, candidates and other critical players in the electoral process such as INEC and the security agencies during the remaining days to the election.

“This will add further weight to the peace accord beyond mere ceremony as demanded by many observers and even some of the political actors themselves,” Yakubu stated.

With just 22 days remaining until the election on September 21, 2024, Yakubu outlined that INEC has successfully completed 10 out of 13 planned activities.

“It is exactly 22 days (3 weeks and 1 day) to the Edo State Governorship election. Campaigns are in full swing and we have already implemented 10 out of the 13 activities listed in our Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election. The most recent activity was the presentation to political parties of the final register of voters containing details of the 2,629,025 registered voters for the election. This was done on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, in our State office in Benin City.

“We are now left with three outstanding activities, namely the publication of Notice of Poll scheduled for Saturday, September 7, 2024, the last day of the campaign by political parties which is Thursday, September 19, 2024, and, finally, the election day which is Saturday, September 21, 2024,” the chairman said.

Key preparations such as installing Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines and printing triplicate copies of the voters’ register for all 4,519 polling units in Edo State are completed.

Yakubu noted, “In addition to these statutory activities, we have intensified our engagement with stakeholders at State and Local Government levels. Similarly, voter education is ongoing. We have concluded the training of security personnel and we are finalising the delivery of the few remaining non-sensitive materials for the election.

“We are concluding arrangements with the land and maritime transport unions for logistics. The printing of triplicate copies of voters’ registers for each of the 4,519 polling units in Edo State is virtually completed. The installation and configuration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines to be deployed on Election Day is completed.

“Observer accreditation tags are being produced. The portal for media accreditation closes next week and so far, 88 media organisations have applied by uploading the details of 698 personnel (journalists, technicians and crew members) to cover the election. We will soon commence the training of various categories of ad-hoc staff.”

Yakubu highlighted a significant achievement: 68.3 per cent of the new Permanent Voters Cards from the recent Continuous Voter Registration have been collected.

He urged further mobilisation to ensure even higher collection rates before the September 8 deadline.

“Early this week, the Commission announced that out of 184,438 Permanent Voters Cards from the recent Continuous Voter Registration, 125,928 PVCs representing 68.3 percent of new cards were collected at Ward level in Edo State in just five days.

“This is the highest rate of collection of PVCs since the introduction of the CVR for off-cycle elections in the Bayelsa and Kogi State governorship elections in 2015. The Commission appreciates the role played by political parties and other stakeholders in mobilising new voters to collect their PVCs. Just yesterday, Wednesday 28th August 2024, the collection of PVCs resumed in our 18 Local Government offices in Edo State.

“This will last until Sunday 8th September 2024. We once again appeal to stakeholders for the same level of mobilisation so that we can achieve an even higher rate of collection,” he stated.

Upcoming activities include a Mock Accreditation exercise on September 10 to test BVAS deployment and result uploads, and the signing of a Peace Accord on September 12, overseen by General Abdulsalami Abubakar. An INEC Stakeholders meeting will precede this on September 11 in Benin City.

“In the coming days, several other activities have been scheduled. On Tuesday September 10, 2024, the Commission will conduct a Mock Accreditation of voters to test-run the deployment of BVAS for the election as well as the upload of results to the INEC Result Viewing portal.

“The signing of the Peace Accord will be preceded by the INEC Stakeholders meeting to be held on Wednesday 11th September 2024 in Benin City. As usual, the meeting will be addressed by the INEC Chairman and the Inspector-General of Police,” he listed.

The INEC Chairman also addressed issues with the new digital platform for submitting polling and collation agents’ details. He stressed that manual submissions are no longer accepted and urged political parties to comply with digital procedures to ensure proper accreditation.

The National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, Yusuf Dantalle, emphasised that political parties must respect the mandate of the people and ensure the sanctity of the ballot box.

“After 25 years of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria, we must get it right this time,” he said, noting that the Edo election will serve as a litmus test for the Ondo State governorship election on November 16, 2024, and set the tone for future elections.

Dantalle urged political parties to conduct issue-based campaigns, avoid violence, and prioritise national unity and development.

He highlighted IPAC’s role in ensuring a peaceful and credible electoral process, stating that the council will work closely with INEC, security agencies, election observers, and the media to guarantee that every vote counts.