2023 poll: INEC to print 450 million ballot papers in Nigeria

The Independent National Electoral Commission says all the 450 million ballot papers for the 2023 elections will be printed in Nigeria.

The chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this in Abuja just as he disclosed all INEC’s sensitive materials would be moved from Abuja to the airport and straight to their state offices.

He said the preference of the commission had always been to print the sensitive materials within the country

He said that in the interim, the Central Bank of Nigeria would no longer be in charge of election materials, beginning with the Ekiti State. governorship poll scheduled for June 18.

Sensitive materials stored in the CBN during elections are ballot papers, result sheets and braille ballot guide for visually-impaired persons, among others.

This is coming on the heels of the controversy surrounding the political interest of the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to contest the 2023 presidential election under the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Yakubu said, “We are not going to use the CBN for the Ekiti election. The materials will be moved from our headquarters in Abuja to the airport, then to our state office.”

On whether the commission’s decision has to do with the open partisanship displayed by Emefiele, Yakubu, simply said the electoral body was experimenting better ways to secure the materials.

He said, “We are experimenting better ways to secure the processes, so it is not necessarily related to what is happening in the CBN. Our intention is to always improve and take complete ownership of the process.”

The INEC boss also said the commission had responded to the demands of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by furnishing the anti-graft agency with the bank accounts and other financial details of political parties.

The EFCC had launched a discreet investigation into the finances of the 18 registered political parties in the country and their presidential aspirants following the humongous fees paid for expression of interest and nomination forms by aspirants vying for various elective offices.