The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday solicited the support of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) for the delivery of election materials.

The deliveries would be made to the North-East, South-East, and South-West geopolitical zones of the country for the Saturday, Feb. 3, rerun and by-elections.

The INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, stated this when he visited the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, in Abuja over the re-run and by-elections set to be held in 26 states.

Yakubu said the elections would fill vacancies in three senatorial districts, 17 federal constituencies, and 28 state constituencies spread across 80 local government areas.

He added that the elections to be held in 575 Registration Areas/Wards and 8,934 Polling Units involved 4,904,627 registered voters, out of which 4,613,291 Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) had been collected.

“In handling such a huge national assignment, the commission cannot do it alone. That is why we seek to mobilise every national asset, including NAF.

“It is in the realisation of this objective that the law empowers the commission to seek the support of the security, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies.

“The commission needs their support in the delivery of materials and the protection of election officials, as clearly provided for in Section 27(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.

“The elections are holding on Saturday. Working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), materials are being delivered to many locations.

“However, given the size and distance of some constituencies, we seek the support of NAF to expeditiously deliver materials to the North-East, South-East, and South-West geopolitical zones of the country.

“We have already indicated to the chief of the air staff the specific locations and the tonnage of materials to be airlifted.”

According to him, the evacuation of the materials from the focal airports to the states where elections will be held will be handled by the commission and the CBN, as has been the standard practice.

“Thereafter, the inspection and movement of all materials to the various local government areas and beyond will be done with the full participation of all stakeholders, particularly agents of political parties and candidates, observers, and the media, transparently,” he said.

Yakubu commended NAF for its cooperation in security and logistic support and for the timely delivery of materials during the general elections, off-cycle elections, by-elections, supplementary elections, and rerun elections.

“I want to place on record the neutrality and professionalism of NAF in particular and the armed forces in general in discharging your responsibilities.

“There have been no unhappy incidents or compromises on the part of your officers and airmen,” Yakubu said.

In his remarks, the CAS, Abubakar, assured INEC that the force would continue to support the commission to deliver credible elections to strengthen the country’s democracy.

Abubakar said the relationship between NAF and INEC had been anchored on shared objectives geared towards ensuring that good governance, stability, and the rule of law reign throughout Nigeria.

The CAS described the visit of Yakubu as a sign of commitment to strengthen the bonds between both organisations.

“The successful conduct of elections is largely hinged on robust security and well-choreographed logistics supply chain management.

“The NAF has been INEC’s dependable partner in providing security in addition to rapid airlift for the distribution of sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials across the country.

“I assure you that we remain willing, able, and ready to continue supporting INEC as we have always done in the past.

“At the moment, our C-130s are currently undergoing maintenance, but we have other aircraft that can be employed to move sensitive materials.

“The caveat is that we need to move those materials a little earlier due to the capacity of the aeroplanes that we have available,” he said.

Abubakar commended the contributions and numerous initiatives of INEC under Yakubu’s watch towards the deepening of Nigeria’s democracy, including serving as a shining example for other nations in the world.

Some of the initiatives, according to Abubakar, include continuous voter registration, introduction of new technologies, voter education and sensitization, and post-election reviews.

“Another laudable milestone achieved was the Electoral Act of 2022, which introduced reforms aimed at more timely organisation of pre-electoral processes and increasing transparency in results collation and reporting.

“These and many more reforms have raised the bar of transparency and credibility in our electoral process.

“We thus join the chorus of voices commending your efforts and stand proud as friends of your esteemed organisation,” he said.

Abubakar said the success of Nigeria’s democracy had been underpinned by strong institutions such as INEC, which worked tirelessly to allow all citizens to enjoy the right to decide who should govern them in free and fair elections.

“The invaluable contributions of the INEC distinguish democracy as a form of governance unparalleled in its commitment to the people.

“Furthermore, it lends credence to the slogan that democracy is the best form of government known to man,” he said.

Abubakar, however, reminded the INEC chairman that some outstanding bills were yet to be cleared, which Yakubu interjected, “but not from INEC.”

Abubakar said that the settlement of those bills would enable the force to serve INEC better. (NAN)