Abuja- The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday inaugurated Electoral Logistics Committee ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu while inaugurating the committee in Abuja.
The event had in attendance officials from the Nigerian Police, Armed forces, NSCDC, Immigration Service, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Customs Service, Fire Service, other Security Agencies and Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMET).
Others are Heads of various Aviation Agencies and aviation handling companies, transport unions, heads of the Various Aviation Handling Companies among others.
In his address, Yakubu said that committee was distinct from the Commission’s Electoral Operations and Logistics Committee (EOLC) which is a standing committee chaired by a National Commissioner saying “Rather, ELoC is an inter-agency committee established close to a General Election for a specific objective only. It is therefore ad hoc in nature”.
The INEC boss said that the establishment of the Committee was borne out of the Commission’s effort to ensure the speedy and safe delivery of huge quantities of sensitive and non-sensitive materials for the 2023 General Election.
“The logistics for the clearance, handling, custody, delivery and distribution of enormous quantities of election materials is the biggest operation Nigeria undertakes every four years. For effective coordination, the Commission believes that every national asset must be mobilised.
“For the movement of election materials and protection of personnel nationwide, Section 27(3) of the Electoral Act 2022 empowers the Commission to seek for the support of the armed forces.
“Accordingly, the three armed services (Army, Navy and Air Force) are members of ELoC. Similarly, the Nigeria Police Force, being the lead agency in election security, is also a member as well as the sister security agencies.
“The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) are also members pursuant to their statutory responsibilities for the clearance and release of materials at seaports and other entry points into the country.”
According to him, at various airports, aviation agencies such as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN),Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Nigerian Air Space Management Agency (NAMA) will play important roles, including the facilitation of access to all airports nationwide for shuttle services for elections as the need arises.
He said that the same applied to the aviation handling companies – Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) and Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO)– in the provision of ground facilities for loading and offloading of cargo at airports.
Yakubu recalled that in 2019, some of the flights conveying essential electoral materials could not land at some airports because of poor visibility.
According to him, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) is a member of ELoC to provide expert advice on weather-related issues to facilitate proper and efficient planning and delivery of materials.
“The Committee’s 9-point Terms of Reference and 27-point Duties and Functions are contained in your folders for this meeting. I urge you to commence your meeting immediately and be submitting periodic reports through the Chairman of the Committee who is an INEC National Commissioner.
“In this way, we will be tracking progress and know well in advance of potential weak links in the logistics chain.We will also be updating Nigerians of progress we are making on regular basis.
” We are determined that never again should elections be postponed at the eleventh hour on account of logistics. That is why we are mobilising every national asset and starting the engagement early.
“It is my pleasure to formally inaugurate the Electoral Logistics Committee for the 2023 General Election.
“Your work begins in earnest as some of the critical materials for the election have started arriving. I am confident that working together we will deliver materials to all locations nationwide in good time.”
