The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, will not accept the nomination of university lecturers who are card carrying members or had participated in partisan politics or convicted of electoral malpractice as Returning and State Collation Officers in the forthcoming polls.
The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made this known in Abuja, at a meeting with Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities.
Mr Yakubu said that for 2023 general elections collation of results would take place in 8,809 Registration Areas or Wards, 774 Local Government Areas, 36 States and the FCT that required returning officers for each constituency.
“Put together, we will engage 23,258 personnel as Collation and Returning Officers. It is for this reason that this meeting is of crucial.
“We need the support of our universities to source the requisite number of suitably academic staff of impeccable integrity who must also understand that this is a call to national service.
“As in previous elections, we have requested each University for a specified number and category of academic staff as contained in my letter to the vice chancellors.
“I must warn that staff who are card carrying members or have participated in partisan politics should not be nominated.
“Similarly, those who may not be involved in partisan politics but are known to have obvious political leanings should not be nominated.
“Furthermore, those who have been convicted of electoral malpractice must be excluded.”
Mr Yakubu said that INEC would carefully scrutinise the list which must be submitted confidentially in the manner prescribed by the commission in his letter to the Vice Chancellors.
“Like all election duty personnel, each collation and returning officer will swear to an oath of neutrality.”
Mr Yakubu commended partnership of Nigerian Universities to conduct of elections in Nigeria.
He said that without the involvement of the tertiary institutions, especially the universities, INEC would find it extremely difficult to conduct credible elections.
He said while INEC make use of National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members as ad hoc staff for elections it make use of academic staff members as election collation and retuning officers.
