The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), road transport and marine workers’ union have signed a revised Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help lift over a million personnel, 100,000 vehicles and about 4,200 boats deployed for the 2023 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu disclosed this, on Tuesday, in Abuja shortly after the pact was signed.
The Unions involved includes the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), National Association of Road Transport Owners, (NARTO) and the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, (MWUN).
Yakubu said: “On December 12, 2018, we signed an MoU with two transport unions, NURTW and NARTO. The MoU was based on the realisation of the critical role of transportation in the conduct of elections in Nigeria. The MoU was designed to facilitate the successful deployment of personnel and materials for the 2019 general election and other elections. Following these elections, we undertook a comprehensive review to learn critical lessons in planning for the 2023 general election and beyond.
“The signing of a revised MoU with the road and marine transport unions today is a demonstration of our determination to implement key recommendations of the review exercise in order to enhance forward and reverse logistics in our electoral operations.
“The 2023 general election will involve the nationwide deployment of over one million personnel and massive quantities of materials twice within a period of two weeks from our state offices to 774 local government areas, 8,809 electoral Wards and 176,846 polling units across the length and breadth of our country. It will require over 100,000 vehicles and about 4,200 boats that will be accompanied by naval gunboats.
“This is a huge undertaking that must be accomplished in the next 66 days and we are resolute in doing so to give Nigerians a pleasant voting experience. Let me assure Nigerians that we are determined that all polling units nationwide will open at 8.30am on Saturday, 25th February 2023 for the Presidential and National Assembly elections and on Saturday, 11th March 2023 for the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections,” he added
