INEC Raises Task Force on Internally Displaced Persons

 Chairman of INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega      
To ensure that all eligible voters cast their votes in the February 2015 general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised a task force on how to get Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to vote.

In a statement by the chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, Kayode Idowu, the commission said that the task force, whose constitution had been approved by the Chairman of INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, has a National Commissioner, Mrs. Thelma Iremiren, as chairperson; along with nine other members, including the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

Specifically, members of the task force include the Director, Electoral Operations, Mr. Kayode Oladimeji; Ag. Director, Legal Services, Barrister Ibrahim Bawa; Director, Voter Registry, Engr. Emmanuel Akem; Chief Technical Adviser to the Chairman, Professor Okechukwu Ibeanu; and Special Assistant to the Chairman, Professor Mohammed Kuna. Others are the REC of Borno State, Professor Tukur Sa’ad; his counterpart for Adamawa State, Mr. Kassim Gaidam; the REC of Yobe State, Mallam Sadiq Abubakar Musa; and Director, Planning and Monitoring, Mr. Okechukwu Ndeche, who is also the Secretary of the task force.

The terms of reference of the task force are to  Examine the legal, political, security and administrative challenges in achieving IDP voting during the 2015 general election; evaluate the standards and recommendations emerging from conferences and workshops by international and local agencies on IDP voting, and determine their applicability to Nigeria for the 2015 general election; review the experiences of other jurisdictions in dealing with the challenges of IDP voting; evaluate the adequacy of existing electoral legal framework for resolving the challenges of IDP voting in the 2015 general election the task force will also determine what the Commission can do to ensure that IDPs are not disenfranchised, if the existing legal framework is inadequate.

It will also determine the scope of IDP participation that is practicable in the 2015 General Election; and Submit a comprehensive report, which should embody specific recommendations on IDP participation in the 2015 general election. The task force has seven working days from Monday, December 22nd, 2014 to submit its report.