The Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) decision to use technology, such as the BVAS and electronic transmission of results in the 2023 election, is sacrosanct, definitive, and irreversible, according to the Inter Party Advisory Council, or IPAC.
In a statement released on Friday and signed by its chairman, Yabagi Sani, in Abuja, IPAC attacked those calling for the ouster of top INEC officials who are adamant on using technology to its fullest extent in the elections the next year.
He said the body ought to stop trying to undermine public faith in the electoral process and respect the democracy of the nation.
IPAC issued a warning that any strategy capable of upsetting the INEC administration at this vital time could compromise the integrity of the elections in 2023.
Sani said, “To us at IPAC, the deployment of technological devices, such as the BVAS and electronic transmission of results, is sacrosanct and an irreversible fait accompli.
“We are on the same page with INEC and all patriotic citizens who crave and are working towards having elections in which the votes of the electorate count.”
Speaking on violence and hate speech, the Council called on the nation’s security agencies and other relevant bodies to gear up in the performance of their statutory responsibilities professionally and objectively.
The statement further read, “IPAC is similarly worried and saddened by the widely reported incidents of violent physical assaults visited on opposition parties by yet to be identified or, apprehended perpetrators.
“An outstanding case in point is the reported recent attack unleashed against members of the PDP during a rally of the party in Kaduna.
“We are fearful that, if the above unsavory happenings are a harbinger of what the nation will witness when the campaigns gain more steam or, during the elections proper, the country will be having anything but, free, fair, credible and acceptable elections in 2023.
“It is a sad and disconcerting fact that these agencies have so far, appeared complacent and complicit in the face of brazen breaches of the laws,”
