Ahead of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has cautioned transport unions against actions that could undermine logistics arrangements for the poll.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, gave the warning during a meeting with leaders of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) in Abuja.
Describing transport logistics as the backbone of electoral operations, Amupitan said the success of the election would depend largely on the timely and efficient movement of materials and personnel across the six Area Councils of the FCT.
“An election can only be as good as its logistics,” he said, stressing that the Commission expects sound and serviceable vehicles in line with agreed specifications under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the unions.
INEC disclosed that it would deploy about 1,132 vehicles to move election materials for the exercise, covering 2,822 polling units spread across 10 wards in five Area Councils and 12 wards in the Abuja Municipal Area Council.
The INEC Chairman expressed concern over past experiences, citing instances where unserviceable vehicles were presented and agreements were not fully honoured. In one instance, he noted, the Commission had to activate alternative arrangements to avert operational setbacks.
He made it clear that INEC would not accept excuses whether deliberate or inadvertent that could jeopardise the timely delivery of sensitive and non sensitive materials to Registration Area Centres (RACs) and polling units.
“Our target is for voting to commence at 8:30 a.m. For that to happen, materials must arrive at polling units by 7:00 or 7:30 a.m., which means vehicles must depart RACs as early as 6:00 a.m.,” he said.
Amupitan also directed Electoral Officers in the FCT to closely supervise the implementation of logistics agreements at the Area Council level, noting that they would serve as the Commission’s eyes in ensuring compliance.
Emphasising the national and international attention on the election, he described the FCT as “the heart of Nigeria” and urged stakeholders to demonstrate patriotism in safeguarding electoral materials.
He called on the unions to activate internal disciplinary mechanisms to ensure members adhere strictly to guidelines, particularly in preventing diversion or hijacking of materials.
Responding, NURTW Director of Legal Services, Barr. Mercy Ibeh, said the issues raised were familiar and regularly discussed between the unions and electoral authorities.
She noted that the level of success recorded in elections often depends on the depth of dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders.
According to her, the union had engaged extensively with INEC’s FCT office over several months to identify challenges and propose workable solutions.
Referring to operational difficulties during the Anambra election, she said the union had formally communicated its concerns to INEC at the time, adding that some of the challenges were beyond its control.
Ibeh expressed optimism that with the issues discussed during the current engagement, earlier challenges would be addressed. She also appealed for support to strengthen the union’s transport capacity, noting that improved access to serviceable vehicles would enhance performance during elections.
Also speaking, FCT NURTW Chairman, Abdullahi Dauda, assured the Commission of the union’s commitment to fulfilling its obligations.
While acknowledging that challenges are inevitable in large scale operations, Dauda said the union had held discussions with the Resident Electoral Commissioner on identified gaps and agreed on measures to resolve them.
“If they give us what we want, they will see what we are going to give them,” he said, adding that the union would ensure all approved vehicles are deployed as agreed.
He further assured that designated officers would monitor and verify vehicle deployment across wards and ensure drivers report promptly for election duty.
Although he declined to guarantee perfection, he expressed confidence that the arrangements in place would significantly improve logistics performance in the forthcoming FCT election.
