Abubakar Momoh, was a prominent Nigerian civil society leader and Director General of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Electoral Institute, sat on the board of several nongovernmental organisations,
A University lecturer and former National Electoral Commissioner, Professor Adele Jinadu has called for broadened electoral reforms that will make elected officials accountable for their decisions and actions they take or fail to take.
Professor Jinadu stated this on monday in Abuja during the Professor Abubakar Momoh annual lecture with the theme the 2023 general elections, lessons learnt in preparation for Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa States governorship elections.
He said that defending citizen’s rights beyond the electoral process and setting limits to state powers were important mechanisms for accountability.
He also suggested an attitudinal change on the part of the Citizens as it was not within the ambit of the Independent National Electoral Commission only to ensure a democratic process but all Nigerians
The Director General, The Electoral Institute, Dr Sa’ad Idris explained that the lecture would assist the Commission in finding out what went wrong during the 2023 general election and enable INEC to prepare for the forthcoming governorship election.
He said the elections would give the Commission another opportunity to fine tune its policies, processes, and procedures towards achieving a more credible electoral outcome in November 11th elections in the three States.
The Chairman, Board of Electoral Institute, Professor Abdullahi Zuru who represented the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu urged the Political Parties, Candidates, and Supporters in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi States to shun violence and adhere strictly to the laws as stipulated in the electoral act.
Professor Zuru noted that the Commission would leverage on the past challenges to ensure a hitch free governorship elections.
The Professor Abubakar Momoh Lecture was the sixth in the series to honour the Former Director General of The Electoral Institute for the innovations he brought into the electoral system when he was alive.
He died on the 29th of May, 2017.
Reporting by Ogochukwu Okoronkwo, editing by Daniel Adejo