We Want To Improve Future Collation & Declaration Of Election Results

REMARKS BY THE CHAIRMAN, INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC), PROF. MAHMOOD YAKUBU, AT THE POST-ELECTION REVIEW MEETING WITH COLLATION AND RETURNING OFFICERS HELD AT LADI KWALI HALL OF THE ABUJA CONTINENTAL HOTEL ON FRIDAY 21st JULY 2023

National Commissioners
Collation and Returning Officers for the 2023 General Election
Other Senior Officials of the Commission
Members of the INEC Press Corps
Ladies and Gentlemen

1. It is my pleasure to welcome you all to the fourth in our planned engagements with key participants in the administration of the 2023 General Election. You may recall that on 4th July 2023, we met with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs). Thereafter, the RECs met in the various States of the federation with our regular staff and ad hoc officials, including those who presided over the elections at polling unit level. Two days ago, we held yet another meeting with our Electoral Officers (EOs) and the leadership of the land and maritime workers’ unions who were engaged to provide logistic support for the movement of personnel and materials.

2. Today, we are meeting with yet another important category of election officials i.e. the Collation Officers. Present here today are the 37 State Collation Officers for the Presidential Election (SCOPEs). Many of you also doubled as Returning Officers for the 28 Governorship elections. For legislative elections, we invited, across the six geo-political zones of the country, the Senatorial District Collation Officers who also doubled as Returning Officers for senatorial elections. It is practically unmanageable to invite all the collation and returning officers for 1,462 federal and state constituencies made up of 109 Senatorial Districts as well as 360 Federal and 993 State Houses Assembly constituencies. We therefore focused on the Senatorial Districts since they are bigger and cut across the other constituencies.

3. The Commission is aware that as collation and returning officers, you worked under extremely challenging circumstances by tediously and manually completing designated forms as provided by law and either moved them to the next level of collation or concluded the processes as Returning Officers. Many of you also have the cognate experience of result management, having served in similar capacities in at least three electoral cycles. The Commission appreciates your commitment, dedication to duty and sacrifice to the cause of our democracy.

4. At the same time, issues have arisen and some Nigerians have raised concerns about result management at various levels. While some of the issues are subject of litigations and therefore sub judice, we can nevertheless discuss them broadly and most importantly share experience on the way forward. It is therefore the Commission’s expectation that at this meeting, we will identify areas of strength and weaknesses as well as the necessary reforms that we need to introduce going forward.

5. More specifically, and from your practical experience in the 2023 General Election, we would like to hear your perspectives on the processes and procedures for:

i. Recruitment, training and posting of Collation and Returning Officers;

ii. Logistics for movement to and from your places of assignment;

iii. The integrity of the collation and declaration procedure, including the application of the law, regulations and guidelines for result management;

iv. The role of technology in result management;

v. Security of Collation/Returning Officers and the collation centres;

vi. Conduct of party agents and election observers during collation;

vii. Conduct of security personnel; and

viii. Any other lessons that will improve the future collation and declaration of results.

6. Consistent with the Commission’s commitment, when the review engagements are exhausted, a comprehensive report will be prepared. It is therefore expected that you will share your field experiences candidly. We would like to hear from you and what can be done to improve this critical aspect of the electoral process.

7. On this note, it is my pleasure to welcome you once again to this review meeting.

8. I thank you all and God bless.