The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Tuesday, met with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP) and other political parties to review the 2023 general elections.
INEC had in the last two weeks engaged with critical stakeholders who participated in the conduct of the 2023 general elections in the country.
The meeting was also scheduled to talk about the preparations for the November 11, 2023 off-season governorship elections in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa states.
Yakubu while addressing the National Commissioners of INEC and leaders of the political parties at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja said that engaging with stakeholders is the best way to ensure credible elections in Nigeria in the future.
Tuesday’s affair which is the first public meeting to be held by the electoral umpire with leaders of political parties was attended by the acting Chairman of the APC, PDP as well as chieftains of other political parties led by the National Chairman of Inter Party Advisory Council, Yabagi Sani.
The presidential election is still being challenged in court as the likes of PDP flagbearer, Atiku Abubakar and LP candidate, Peter Obi are contesting the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Atiku and Obi are both challenging INEC’s declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election of February 25, 2023.
Ahead of the awaited delivery of judgement by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), the PDP last week expressed confidence in the ability of the judiciary to deliver a fair judgement that will be acceptable to the parties concerned.
Meanwhile, INEC chairman, Prof. Yakubu, on Monday said that thugs deployed by politicians and other factors made the 2023 general elections difficult.
Yakubu said in a meeting which took place at the Commission’s conference room, Abuja that the public is aware there were many challenges encountered before and during the elections.
He stated when the Commission met with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in continuation of its review of the elections that the severe cash and fuel situations were compounded by the perennial insecurity nationwide.
“Their impact on our deployment plans, compounded by the behaviour of some of our own officials in the field, made logistics management particularly challenging.
“The deployment of thugs by some political actors made election day administration difficult in a number of places,” the INEC boss said.
