By Jubril Bada

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) held a sensitization workshop for stakeholders to mitigate violence and challenges that could hamper the free and fair governorship election in Ondo State.

The workshop, titled “Electoral Risk Management (ERM),” took place in Akure, the state capital, and included security agencies such as the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Army, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Directorate of State Security, National Immigration Service, Nigerian Navy, Federal Road Safety Corps, National Orientation Agency, and Civil Society Organizations, among others.

Speaking at the event, INEC’s Supervising National Commissioner in charge of Ondo, Osun, and Ogun States, Prof. Kunle Ajayi, assured the readiness of the Commission to conduct a free, fair, and credible election that will be acceptable to all.

To conduct a hitch-free election in the state, he said stakeholders need to identify the peculiar and potential challenges they are confronted with, understand the risk factors involved, analyze the risk data, and take actions to mitigate or circumvent election-related risks.

Identifying challenges that could hamper the conduct of free, fair, credible, and inclusive elections, Ajayi noted security challenges as a major concern that must be tackled.

He pointed out climate change and its consequential effects such as flooding, erosion, and rising water levels across the riverine areas in the state, leading to the disenfranchisement of communities, which could pose major challenges to the conduct of the forthcoming election.

Ajayi said unguarded utterances by politicians and inciteful hate speech comments further heat up the already tense political space, urging them to desist from this act.

“All of the above risk factors, if not well managed, could potentially hamper the conduct of a credible election. While electoral violence and other external factors mentioned are mostly at the top of the agenda when identifying risks, we must also give serious attention to internal risk factors such as the Commission’s internal logistics, recruitment, training, and posting, payment of ad-hoc staff, and adherence to the Commission’s standard processes and procedures,” he said.

He highlighted that the Commission adopted Election Risk Management as one of the key monitoring strategies in its Elections Management tools, which over the years has helped the Commission enhance its capacity to understand risk factors, analyze risk data, and take effective actions to prevent and mitigate election-related insecurity and other challenges.

INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of the Planning, Monitoring, and Strategy Committee, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, explained that the workshop sought to expose participants to the Commission’s Electoral Risk Framework, identify internal and external risk factors associated with the conduct of the governorship election, and develop mitigating strategies.

Represented by Deputy Director, Policy and Planning at INEC headquarters in Akure, Mr. Emeka Nwachukwu, Gumus pointed out that the conduct of a successful election is a collective mandate requiring the cooperation of security agencies and other stakeholders.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola, described ERM as a crucial part of INEC’s preparations for the forthcoming governorship election to achieve a violence-free poll.

Babalola, who described elections as the bedrock of democracy, said safety, fairness, and transparency are the collective responsibility of all stakeholders.

“Therefore, the goal of today’s workshop is not only to deepen our understanding of potential threats to the electoral process but also to foster a collaborative environment where we can share intelligence, innovative strategies, and build stronger networks for the successful conduct of the forthcoming governorship election.”

“In addition, it will facilitate the exchange of risk information between stakeholders and strengthen INEC’s capacity to collect and analyze risk data to improve situational awareness,” she stated.

The event included interactive sessions and question-and-answer sessions.