INEC Relocates Electoral Institute to Delta

 

Mr Ishmael Igbani, INEC National Commissioner, who said this in Abuja in an interview with newsmen added that that was aimed at professionalising election administration.

``The Oghara resuscitation is part of the ongoing reform at INEC for it to respond positively to the growth of democracy in the country and capacity building.

``By early 2013, it will become a full institute specifically for training and research.''

Igbani said the institute had been abandoned for more than four years, but noted that when in full progress it would attract visiting professors from within and outside the country on sabbatical.

He said the institute would be under the administration of a director general and other board members as against the present board of six national commissioners one for each geopolitical zone.

``As the Institute is being reorganised at the appropriate time advertisement will be placed in the national dailies for the major positions.''

Igbani stated that the institute was affiliated with the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and University of Ibadan for postgraduate and diploma courses for INEC staff would also come under review.

He said the institute had done a lot in the areas of training and research into electoral processes with series of publications to back their efforts up.

``At every election be it general, by and re-run elections the institute trains various categories of participants, as am speaking with you now the institute is busy conducting training for those for the forthcoming Ondo election and the by-election in Plateau.

``The Institute is doing more than the expectation of most Nigerians, it is so unfortunate that most of their activities are not made public.

``Voter education is not the duty of the institute because there is a department responsible for it in INEC and it was living up to expectation with sensitisation across the country to the importance of the exercise.

The Institute was established in 2006 by Prof. Maurice Iwu former INEC Chairman.