INEC inaugurates election monitoring support committee

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has inaugurated a nine-member ‘Election Monitoring and Support Centre Committee’, as part of preparations towards the 2019 General Elections.

While addressing the committee members in his office on Wednesday, he noted that with 68 political parties and 1,558 constituencies at the moment, the task of organising a general election in Nigeria “is really a very big task.”

The commission had inaugurated a sixteen member Election Project Plan (EPPC) Committee to implement the commission’s 2017-2021 Strategic Plan of action.

“As a commission, we have to track the activities in the EPP (Election Project Plan) and we are going to rely on this committee. In other words, you are the secretariat for the implementation of the EPP.

“We carefully selected men and women, boys and girls that we are absolutely sure are dedicated and have the intellectual capacity to work, not just for 24 hours, but for more than 24 hours.

“Let me on behalf of the commission congratulate you. This is really a big task and I appreciate your acceptance to serve as members of this committee.”

The committee is expected to conclude its assignment within four weeks.

It was given the following Terms of Reference:

To establish the EMSC Secretariat for the 2019 General Elections; to finalise the EMSC Checklist; to finalise the integrated platform for the EMSC; to prepare and submit a comprehensive memo to the Commission through the PMSC for the effective implementation of EMSC operations and to make any other recommendations for the successful implementation of the 2019 Election Project Plan.

The Committee is chaired by the Special Adviser to the Chairman, Mohammed Kuna.

Members of the committee are; Director, Planning and Monitoring; Okechukwu Ndeche, Deputy Director, ICT; Paul Omokore, Deputy Director, ERM; Ifeanyi Agoha and Deputy Director, EOSC, Jibreen Jameel El-Yakub.

Other members include Deputy Director, The Electoral Institute; Victoria Eta-Messi, Assistant Director (EMS); Victoria Umoren, Nkiru Amadi-Emina and Moses Danladi Adayilo.