Yakubu: INEC to review collation and returning officer hiring

The Independent National Electoral Commission decided to review the hiring, training, and posting of such officers in subsequent elections and sought the opinions of the collation and returning officers.

The result management system will be reviewed, according to INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who made the announcement in response to complaints from some Nigerians regarding the system used for the 2023 general elections.

The chairman said that the commission would evaluate its strengths and weaknesses so that the results management system could be improved during the post-election review meeting with collation and returning officers on Friday in Abuja.

“Issues have come up, and some Nigerians have expressed worry about result management at various levels,” Yakubu said. Despite the fact that some of the issues are the subject of pending litigation, we can still talk about them broadly and, most importantly, share our insights on how to move forward.

The commission anticipates that we will identify areas of strength and weakness as well as the necessary reforms we need to implement moving forward at this meeting.

Read Also: Reactions as Fubara nullifies Wike’s recruitment into Rivers varsity

“More specifically, and based on your actual experience in the general elections of 2023, we’d like to hear your perspectives on the processes and procedures for hiring, preparing, and posting collation and returning officers,” the statement reads.

According to him, the commission was also investigating the logistics of getting people to and from their places of assignment, the validity of the data collection and declaration process, as well as how the law, rules, and guidelines for result management were applied.

The use of technology in managing results, collation center security, behavior of party agents and election observers during collation, and security personnel behavior were other points he brought up for review.