The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied reports that it has delegated the logistics of the 2023 general election materials to the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Lagos state and other transport unions.
Festus Okoye, the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, made this clarification during a recent appearance on Channels Television’s “The 2023 Verdict” program. It’s worth noting that there have been rumors that the INEC in Lagos State has assigned the logistics for the upcoming election to the Lagos State Parks Management Committee, led by Musiliu Akinsanya, also known as MC Oluomo.
Okoye stated that the rumors of INEC contracting the election logistics to a single individual or transport union are false. According to him, INEC will hire 138,000 vehicles, 4,000 boats, and 88,000 motorcycles for the 2023 election, and these contracts will be made directly with the vehicle owners, not with any union. The only agreement INEC has with the transport unions, such as the National Union of Road Transport Workers and the National Association of Road Transport Owners, is a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which serves the purpose of accountability in case of a driver’s absence or failure to fulfill their duty. He emphasized that the INEC does not enter into any form of contract with these unions.
Okoye further stated, “The mention of an individual’s name in connection with providing all the vehicles needed for the election is just mischievous.”
According to Okoye, INEC deals with each state based on its unique characteristics, and the Supervising National Commissioner in Lagos State has guaranteed a seamless arrangement for the 2023 election. He also highlighted that INEC and other observers were pleased with the performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) during a recent mock accreditation exercise held in 436 polling units. The BVAS can identify registered voters through their fingerprints or facial recognition, and Okoye reported that those who participated in the exercise were impressed with the system and praised INEC for the improvement.
Source: Vanguard News