The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that Nigeria’s coming general election will begin on Saturday, February 18, 2023.
INEC’s Chief Press Secretary, Rotimi Oyekanmi, who confirmed this, said Chairman of the commission, Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed it on Wednesday during a one-day public hearing on the National Electoral Offences Commission (Establishment) Bill 2021, organised by the Senate Committee on INEC.
Yakubu said the 2023 general elections were exactly one year, nine months, two weeks and six days or 660 days from April 28, 2021.
“By the principle established by the Commission, the 2023 General Election will hold on Saturday 18th February 2023, which is exactly one year, nine months, two weeks and six days or 660 days from today,” Yakubu said.
He said the commission hoped to release the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the General Election immediately after the Anambra governorship election scheduled to hold on November 6, 2021.
He therefore stated that to release the schedule and timetable, INEC needed to be clear and certain about the electoral framework that would govern the conduct of the elections, stating that one of the most challenging duties of the INEC had been the prosecution of electoral offenders in the country.
He further stated that out of the 125 cases of electoral offences filed across the courts of law in the country in the 2015 general elections, only 60 convictions had been secured so far.
“We look forward to the day when highly placed sponsors of thuggery, including party chieftains and candidates that seek to benefit from violations of the law, are apprehended,” Yakubu stated
