2023: INEC says 100,000 vehicles, 4, 200 boats required as transporters demand early mobilization

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said over 100, 000 vehicles and 4, 200 boats are required for the movement of materials and personnel during the 2023 general election. Chairman of the commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu disclosed this on Tuesday at the signing ceremony of a reversed Memorandum of Understanding between INEC and the Road Transport and Maritime Workers Union in Abuja.

The MoU was signed between the electoral umpire and the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, National Union of Road Transport Owners, NARTO and the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN.

The INEC chairman in his opening remarks said the MoU is a demonstration of the commission’s commitment to improve on the previous working relationship with the unions which started in the 2015 elections.

According to him, “The 2023 general election will involve the nationwide deployment of over 1 million personnel and massive quantities of materials twice within a period of two weeks from our state offices to 774 local government areas, 8, 809 electoral wards and 176, 846 polling units across the length and breadth of our country. It will require over 100, 000 vehicles and about 4, 200 boats that will be accompanied by naval gunboats. This is a huge undertaking that must be accomplished in the next 66 days and we are resolute in doing so to give Nigerians a pleasant voting experience. Let me assure Nigerians that we are determined that all polling units nationwide will open at 8.30am on Saturday, 25th February 2023 for the Presidential and National Assembly elections and on Saturday, 11th March 2023 for the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections.”

Justifying the need for such huge number of vehicles and boats, Professor Yakubu said the commission needs the partnership of transporters to convey materials and personnel to different polling units including those located in the difficult-to-reach domains.

“In order to ensure that personnel and materials will be at the polling units on election day awaiting the arrival of voters rather than the other way around, INEC requires large numbers of vehicles, including motorcycles, tricycles, boats and canoes in the riverine areas which cannot be met from its internal resources. It was for this reason that the commission signed the first MoU with the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW in January 2015. In order to expand the pool of our service providers to meet the requirement for the increasing number of vehicles, the MoU was reviewed in December 2018 to incorporate the National Association of Road Transport Workers, NARTO.

“Over the years, the commission has come to rely on the partnership with the NURTW and NARTO to provide vehicles for the successful deployment of electoral personnel and materials. However, we did not incorporate the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, within the ambit of the MoU, a situation which has often resulted in logistics nightmare in the deployment and retrieval of personnel and materials to the riverine areas of the country. This oversight is now addressed by the revised MoU to include MWUN comprising of sailors, dockworkers and those in related trades in our electoral logistics planning and delivery,” he said

The reversed MoU, he noted, extends to the state and local government areas between officials of the unions and our Resident Electoral Commissioners and Electoral Officers, adding that “the agreement which is legally binding will be based on the actual breakdown of the number of vehicles, tricycles, motorcycles, boats and canoes per state.”

He called on the leadership of the unions to supervise their members in the various chapters and branches for the full implementation of the MoU.

“It is our expectation that the leadership of the unions will effectively supervise their members in the various chapters and branches for the full implementation of the MoU. In doing so, you will be required to work very closely with our Resident Electoral Commissioners and collaborate with the Federal Regulatory and Safety Agencies to ensure that the objectives of the MoU are fully realized in terms of required road/sea worthiness and safety standards of your vehicles and boats. Furthermore, the knowledge of your members of the routes and topography in various parts of the country is especially important for ease of movement and a timeous and safe delivery of personnel and materials, especially to areas with difficult terrain,” he added.

He reminded the unions that the new Electoral Act 2022 requires everyone involved in election duties to subscribe to the INEC Oath/Affirmation of Neutrality, saying, “we will therefore require your members to swear and strictly adhere to this oath and the INEC Code of Conduct for Electoral Officials as your participation in the delivery of electoral logistics requires absolute neutrality and non-partisanship. The security agencies shall not only be available to escort all vehicles and boats to locations, but they will also ensure the safety and protection of all election personnel and materials. As usual, we shall track the movement of all vehicles and boats electronically and in real time to ensure that election personnel and materials are not hijacked or diverted.”

President General, National Union of Road Transport Owners, Lawan Othman in a brief interview with newsmen pledged the readiness of NARTO to full its part of the MoU noting that his members would be politically neutral in the course of the exercise.

“We will give 100 per cent commitment, 100 per cent neutrality to ensure everything is done as expected. The only concern we have is that INEC should ensure early mobilization. We should be able to have the required number of vehicles and their full utilization,” he said.

On his part, National President of NURTW, Tajudeen Baruwa, said the signing of the MoU marks the beginning of a journey to a successful 2023 polls. “I wish to assure you and the entire nation, that the three unions will not disappoint Nigeria.

Also speaking, National President of MWUN, Dr. Adeyanju Adewale, commended INEC for extending service to the nation to maritime workers, stressing that his members would deliver to the expectations of Nigerians.