INEC Cautions Politicians Against Inciting Campaign Speeches

Political parties have been issued the ri*t act by the Independent National Electoral Commission Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as campaign for the general elections of 2023 get underway on Wednesday.

Yakubu sounded the note of warning on Monday, at the opening of a two- Day Capacity building workshop on the Commission’s Processes, Preparations for the 2023 General Election and Critical Issues in the Electoral Act 2022 for INEC Press Corps, held in Lagos.

He asserted that in order to properly and peacefully conduct political campaigns, rallies, and processions, people must critically examine and pay attention to the requirements of the Constitution, the Electoral Act, the Police Act, and the Public Order Act.

The INEC boss also reprimanded the parties for using “abusive words directly or indirectly, which are likely going to hurt religious, ethnic, tribal, or sectional sensibilities” in their campaigns and slogans.

He cautioned that ”ab*sive, intemperate, sl@nderous or base language or innuendoes designed or likely to provoke viol3nt reactions or emotions must not be employed or used in political campaigns”.

Represented at the event by Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Yakubu charged the media to exercise their constitutional responsibility and hold the political parties to task, ensuring they uphold the guidelines and provisions of the Electoral Act as it relates to the coming elections.

He reiterated that the media has a critical role to play in the overall success of the election and reassured that INEC will deploy technology to give Nigerians a full experience of electoral justice.

He said;

 “I want to assure Nigerians that the Commission will deploy and continue to deploy appropriate technology for the conduct of elections. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Result Viewing Portal (IreV) will be deployed for the conduct of the 2023 general election.

“We will continue to use technology to improve and enhance the credibility of elections in Nigeria. Our goal is electoral justice where every Nigerian will experience electoral fulfilment,”