The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos State have decried the recent trend of voter apathy in elections.
The two umpires agreed to collaborate on voter education ahead of 2023 general elections when LASIEC Permanent Secretary, Dr Olayiwole Onasanya, led a team of directors in the commission on a courtesy visit to INEC on Thursday in Lagos.
Onasanya said the visit was to create an enabling environment for both commissions to work together to strengthen electoral processes, especially as the 2023 general elections approach.
The permanent secretary, who decried the recent decreasing trend in voter turnout in elections, said that both commissions needed to work together to reverse the trend.
“I thought it is better we visit you and learn from each other. Looking at the trend of voting in Nigeria, the percentage has been going down.
“The last Local Government election that was conducted in Lagos State, only about 10.2 per cent of the voting population voted and that is not good enough. The same thing happens during gubernatorial and presidential elections.
“Turnout of voters has been going down and therefore, it is important that we work together and ensure that the voting population increases,” he said.
According to him, people do not have the moral right to criticise any government if they do not exercise their franchise during elections.
Onasanya said that in 2022 LASIEC planned to do a lot of civic and voter education saying “as the 2023 election approaches there was there the need to enlighten a lot of people especially the youth and women.”
The permanent secretary applauded INEC gender policy and said that LASIEC would want to adapt it.
He said that the commission was also looking at delineation of wards to take care of new communities and neighborhood to save people from traveling far distance to vote.
“In 2023, LASIEC is also available to support you in any way you deem fit, we can give our services to you. We can work together-LASIEC working with our big brother INEC.”
In his response, Mr James Popoola, INEC Administrative Secretary, who welcomed the delegation on behalf of the outgoing INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Sam Olumekun, said that the commission needed the assistance of the visitors on voter education.
Popoola, who noted that INEC had been conducting CVR ahead of the 2023 elections, decried the low tresponse of people to elections.
He said that INEC had also created additional polling units to allow more access to voters in order to increase the participation of people in elections.
The administrative secretary, however, lamented that after more than six months of CVR, some of the new PUs had not seen any voter register in them while some had as low as five new registrants.
“The commission will appreciate whichever way LASIEC can assist in populating the new Polling Units in the ongoing registration. We will continue to call on you in anyway you may be of assistance to us.
“INEC has always been ready to offer whatever services required from our office ranging from the provision of register of voters among other things.
“We have been supportive of your activities in so many ways and you have also always reciprocated the gesture.
“I have to appreciate all your collaborative gestures toward the commission in the time past, we are also looking forward to embarking on more activities in the nearest future,” he said
Popoola urged LASIEC to join the commission in mobilising eligible residents to enroll in the ongoing CVR exercise and to educate people about the newly created polling units in the state.
“We discovered that the response as far as the current CVR is concerned has been very low. People have been coming in trickles. We don’t know what is actually responsible for this,” he said.
According to him, INEC will from regularly call on LASIEC for cooperation and assistance as the 2023 elections approach.
Also commenting, INEC Head of Electoral Operations, Mr Felix Daramola, who described LASIEC as a critical stakeholder in democratic processes, noted that if people did not register in the newly created polling units, they would not be used in the 2023 election.
The event was attended by directors and heads of departments from each commission.
