Honourable National Commissioners
Representatives of the various agencies
Directors
Ladies and Gentlemen
1. Today, the Commission is taking another step in our determination to ensure seamless preparations for the 2019 General Elections. As we move closer to the elections, the Commission has decided to set up two (2) ad hoc Committees to drive important components of the electoral process.
2. The first Committee is responsible for electoral logistics. The Commission is aware that the conduct of a General Election is the biggest and most complex logistics operation a nation can undertake. Sensitive and non-sensitive materials procured by the Commission must be delivered to almost 200,000 locations nationwide, ranging from the polling units to the various Ward, Local Government, State and the National collation centres for the 1,558 constituencies into which elections will be conducted. At the end of the elections, sensitive materials will be retrieved from the same locations. The same process will be repeated for each of the two (2) phases of the 2019 General Elections, namely the Presidential and National Assembly elections holding on 16th February and the Governorship, State Assembly and Area Council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on 2nd March.
3. For the 2019 General Elections, the Electoral Logistics Committee will be responsible for coordinating logistics support as well as the clearance and transportation of election materials to various locations nationwide. The Committee includes relevant security agencies whose roles are clearly defined in Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).
4. The second ad hoc committee, which is entirely internal to the Commission, shall be responsible for the national collation centre from where results of the Presidential election will be announced. As was the case in 2015, the Commission will use the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja. Already, the management of the ICC has approved the Commission’s request to once again use the venue in 2019. It will serve as the secretariat for collation of results and venue for briefing of international observers and the media. It will also be accessible to agents of the seventy-three (73) political parties fielding candidates in the presidential election. Facilities such as power, access to the internet, live transmission for national and international media as well as accreditation for access to the ICC and security of the venue shall be handled by the Committee.
5. I wish to reassure Nigerians that we are on course to deliver credible elections in 2019. Let me also seize this opportunity to confirm that the Commission will meet with the national leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) tomorrow Friday 4th January 2019 at 4pm. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the ongoing strike by the Union but only in relation to our preparations for the General Elections. We are concerned that the bulk of critical election duty staff are drawn from the universities. We are determined to ensure that processes are not affected by the Union’s industrial action. ASUU is a critical partner to the Commission in delivering credible elections. We look forward to the meeting and we are confident of a positive outcome.
6. The Commission has similarly contacted another critical partner, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). We are already in partnership with one of its affiliate unions, the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), with which we recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the movement of personnel and materials on election day. The Commission plans to meet with the NLC next week.
7. It is now my pleasure to inaugurate the two Committees on Electoral Logistics and the Collation Centre. I urge you to start work in earnest.
8. Thank you and God bless.
COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEES
Committee on Electoral Logistics
1. National Commissioner AVM Ahmed Tijjani Mu’azu (rtd) – Chairman
2. National Commissioner Engr. Abubakar Nahuche – Member
3. National Commissioner Malam Mohammed Haruna – Member
4. Central Bank of Nigeria – Member
5. Nigeria Customs Service – Member
6. Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria – Member
7. Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) – Member
8. Nigeria Immigration Service – Member
9. The Nigeria Police Force – Member
10. Nigeria Security & Civil Defence Corps – Member
11. The Department of State Services – Member
12. Nigerian Army – Member
13. Nigerian Navy – Member
14. Nigerian Air Force – Member
15. Director, Electoral Operations Department, INEC – Member
16. Director, Estate Works & Transport, INEC – Member
17. Director, Procurement INEC – Member
18. Director Stores – Member/Secretary
Committee on Collation Centre
1. National Commissioner Amina Bala Zakari – Chairman
2. National Commissioner Prof. Anthonia T. Okoosi-Simbine – Member
3. National Commissioner Barr. Festus Okoye – Member
4. Chief Technical Adviser to Hon. Chairman, Prof. Bolade Eyinla – Member
5. Chief Press Secretary to Hon. Chairman, Rotimi L. Oyekanmi – Member
6. Director, ICP Department, INEC – Member
7. Director, ICT Department, INEC – Member
8. Director, EPM Department, INEC – Member
9. Director, Security Department, INEC – Member
10. Director, P&M department, INEC – Member
11. Director, Health Services Department, INEC – Member
12. Director, Commission Secretariat, INEC – Member/Secretary
