Director Approved of the Nationwide Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, on Thursday mentioned it had change into mandatory for the Nigerian executive to profile foreign election observers.
Abubakar mentioned that profiling foreign election observers has change into imperative to guarantee nationwide security, announcing that Nigeria must no longer grant foreign election observers unfettered access to “certain things which might per chance be excessive to nationwide security”.
Speaking in Abuja at a symposium on ‘Elections Monitoring and Commentary: 2023 Approved Election and Diagram Forward’, organised by African Union Development Agency – New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD), in collaboration with Nationwide Institute of Security Analysis (NISS), the NIA boss who modified into once represented by NIA’s Head of Approved Operations, Hamza Muhammad, called for mechanisms to be achieve in set aside to fight inaccurate info and disinformation, The Guardian experiences.
The Self sustaining Nationwide Electoral Commission (INEC) accredited a complete of 33 worldwide organisations that deployed 2,113 observers for the 2023 frequent elections.
On the opposite hand, the Presidency rejected a picture by the European Union, which claimed that the election that produced President Bola Tinubu modified into once wrong. The Presidency described the picture as a “poorly performed desk job.”
Muhammad mentioned, “Before the 2023 frequent elections, there modified into once apprehension, even from our partners in a single more country, on whether the elections will seemingly be held or no longer. We’re joyful that it modified into once a success. We performed our role as expected.
“On the opposite hand, there are two points. One is that the election has the very best replacement of formative years participation and usage of social media. There were attempts by groups to lead belief. We might per chance silent bear a study uncover how to counter inaccurate messages distributed on social media.
“Also, we now bear a huge replacement of election monitoring organisations, each and each local and foreign. Creep, we pick our elections to be clear however we shouldn’t enable foreign organisations to bear unfettered access to certain things which might per chance be excessive to our nationwide security. That is one thing we might per chance silent listen to.”
The nationwide coordinator and Chief Govt Officer of AUDA-NEPAD Nigeria, Gloria Akobundu, at the match, mentioned the organisation launched into a nationwide consciousness campaign on violence-free elections all the arrangement in which during the six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to originate clear that efficient implementation of the Nationwide Programme of Motion (NPoA).
She added that the organisation furthermore situation up a problem room to video display and scrutinize the 2023 frequent elections, announcing the picture of the teach modified into once ready with strategies that would toughen simplest practices in future electoral processes, including upcoming low season polls, per the Electoral Act.
