INEC, NSA disagree over voters stay after ballot

Less than 24 hours to the first of the three-leg general elections, a sharp disagreement has broken out between the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) over the right of voters to stay at the polling unit after voting.

There has been pressure on INEC to change its position and ask Nigerians to stay away after voting, but the electoral commission said it would not go back on its stand.

The Nation

learnt that at a meeting between an INEC delegation and the Office of the NSA on Wednesday, both sides remained adamant on their positions.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The security agencies expressed worry over the likelihood of stampede and the possibility of violence or over-running the polling units.

“But the INEC delegation claimed that past experience had allayed the fears of the security agencies and the officials. Apart from the success of the experiment in 1993, INEC claimed that it used the stay-behind-method during the Delta State rerun in January.

“INEC insisted that the commission will not change its position because if voters stay behind peacefully, it will ensure the transparency of the process.

“So, I can tell you that there is a deadlock over this matter. And INEC has ruled out the possibility of going on air to tell Nigerians to keep away from the polling units after voting.

“With each group maintaining a parallel position on this issue, the security agencies might have to exercise discretion and caution.”

As at last night, INEC was putting finishing touches to its Situation Room, which might fully come on stream today.

A top source in the commission said: “The Situation Room is technologically driven with different platforms. It has facilities to monitor events across the country; for incident reporting by the public and response/ intervention by the commission.

“There is no hiding place for anyone who tries to hijack or take undue advantage of the electoral process.”

A document released by INEC last night stated as follows:” We are using the reclaimnaija.net Platform for incident reporting. The reclaimnaija.net incident reporting platform is powered by the Ushahidi engine that allows the gathering and distribution of data via SMS, email or web. The collated data is geo-tagged and displayed on the Google map of Nigeria . This makes it possible to view specific locations of reported incidents

“Sending reports by SMS. This is the simplest and most straightforward method of sending reports to the reclaimnaija.net platform. All that is required for filing report is to send an SMS to any of the following numbers: 0816-666-2222; 0812-000-6622; and 0809-666-2221.

“Sending reports by Email. To send reports by email, all the monitor needs is to email [email protected]

“Sending reports via web. This is direct reporting on the www.reclaimnaija.net website. To send direct reports, the monitor logs on to the above website and completes the following steps: 1. Click on the link “click to submit a report,” a report form appears. 2. Enters the title of the report in the “report Title” field; 3. Enters the incidents being reported in the “Description” field; 4. Types in the location of the incident and name of the state in the “find location” field, e.g.Uvwie, Delta State ; 5. Selects a category that describes the incident, e.g. “Names Missing from Register”; 6. Clicks on the “submit” button.

“Sending video or photo reports. Video and photo reports of incidents can be sent via email to inforeclaimnaija.net”

The hotlines for the poll that can be called by Nigerians are:

0707-0273-6781, 0707-0273-6782, 0707-0273-6783, 0707-0273-6784, 0707-0273-6785

0707-0273-6786, 0707-0273-6787, 0707-0273-6788, 0707-0273-6789.

Frontline lawyer Femi Falana said last night: “The statement credited to NSA and IGP that voters should move away from voting centres is illegal and should be ignored. It is an undue usurpation of the powers of INEC the only authority that is competent to issue guidelines on the general election.

“Contrary to the mischievous claim of the security chief, Section 129 of the Electoral Act allows voters to keep a distance of 300 metres away from the polling centre.”

The Commonwealth Observer Group to Nigeria for the elections has expressed deep concern over the accreditation process and the long wait by voters at the polling units.

Although INEC chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega allayed the group’s fears, its Head, Mr Festus Mogae, a former President of Botswana, who was at INEC headquarters, said the accreditation process that would entail people waiting for long hours before actual voting had the potential of causing “anxiety”.

Mogae said: “I share the sense of excitement and anticipation that we have come across in Nigeria, but also their apprehensions about the likely challenges that lie ahead. I am however confident that INEC will address these challenges, and hope that the elections go well,” Mr Mogae said.