The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said, it is presently harnessing the lessons from the 2019 general elections and harvesting positive recommendations aimed at improving subsequent elections.
INEC assured the various stakeholders in the electoral process that it would study and analyse all the recommendations made and implement those that can be implemented administratively while working with relevant stakeholders towards effecting fundamental reforms in the electoral legal framework.
Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, gave this indication Monday at the opening ceremony of a-4 day Workshop on Media Monitoring for the Some Publicity Officers of the Commission in Abuja.
Okoye said the Commission is presently repositioning and repackaging for the challenges ahead and would continue to improve on its processes and procedures, disclosing that part of the challenges faced by INEC during the 2019 general election revolves around information management.
“It revolves around strategic communication. It revolved around managing public perception around the processes and procedures of the Commission. It revolved around the calibre and knowledge of the staff saddled with managing its image and communicating to and with the public. It revolved around making information available to the media in real time to avoid speculation, rumour mongering and fake news”, he stated.
According to Okoye, the training would equip and empower Publicity Officers with modern skills of monitoring the activities of the media, to keep the Commission abreast of issues as they break or begin to trend especially on the social media.
“We believe that this is the way to go in being proactive in an information-driven society where political considerations and partisan posturing sometimes play a huge role in the dissemination of fake news, misinformation and dis-information. Media monitoring will help us appreciate what is being said about us and where we need to respond and timely too”, the INEC National Commissioner said.
While commending the support of INEC partners, Okoye said “the Commission appreciates the collaborative partnership existing between it and the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) targeted at strengthening the processes of the Commission, promoting Nigeria’s electoral process and deepening our democracy.
“The establishment of a world-class Media Monitoring Centre at the INEC Headquarters is no doubt a testimony to this collaborative effort. We assure our partners that the Commission and its staff will make good use of the facilities at the media monitoring centre to promote the work of the Commission and in the process enhance its image.
Manji Wilson, ECES Coordination Advisor/ Electoral Administrative Expert in his address disclosed that,
following the recommendations of the European Union Observation Mission to Nigeria, 2015 and 2019, ECES had procured, delivered and is currently installing hardware and software that would in a few days metamorphose into the National Media Monitoring Centre at the INEC headquarters.
Wilson urged participants at the Workshop that “the skills and expertise you acquire from this workshop will be crucial to strengthening this centre. Further support will be considered in due course to expand the scope of ECES interventions to the INEC Media monitoring set-up beyond HQ.
“The European Centre for Electoral Support is committed to strengthening and deepening the democratic process in Nigeria through the implementation of the EU-SDGN programme– Component 1”.
James Kwen, Abuja
