By Muhammed Shaeed
September 6th, 2024
Ahead of the September 21 off-cycle governorship election in Edo state, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has put in place measures to tackle incidences of fake news and misinformation.
The commission made this known while expressing concern about the negative impact of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation on the outcome of elections in the country.
National Commission and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of the commission, Sam Olumekun disclosed this while addressing members of the INEC Press Corps on preparation for the elections.
Olumekun said: “In this digital age, we are acutely aware of the dangers posed by fake and misleading news, especially during an election period. Such information has the potential to disrupt the electoral process, undermine public confidence, and incite unnecessary tensions.
The Commission has taken proactive steps to combat this menace, part of which is to be open and transparent in all its dealings. We have made it a culture to constantly update the public through you after every Commission’s meeting when decisions are taken. We will intensify the information flow as we move closer to the Edo governorship election.
“Measures have been put in place to minimize circulation of false information. However, we cannot do this alone. We believe that you will remain a bulwark against fake and misleading information about the Commission and the electoral process.
“We urge the public and the media to play their part by verifying any information related to the election directly with the Commission before sharing. Our doors are open for any inquiries, and we have established multiple channels through which the public can reach us for accurate information. Let us all work together to ensure that only the truth prevails during this election period”
He also said, “The Commission has left no stone unturned in its efforts to guarantee that this election will be conducted with the highest standards of integrity. As you are aware, we have intensified our engagement with stakeholders at State and Local Government levels, while voter education is still ongoing at all levels.
The Training of Security Personnel has been concluded, while the Training of Ad-hoc staff, i.e. Supervisory Presiding Officers, Presiding Officers, and Assistant Presiding Officers starts today 6th to the 15th of this month in Edo state.
“The Commission is concluding arrangements with the land and maritime transport unions for logistics. The printing of triplicate copies of voters’ register for each of the 4,519 Polling Units in Edo State is virtually completed.
“The installation and configuration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines to be deployed on Election Day is completed. Observer and accreditation tags are being produced as well.
On Tuesday 10th September 2024, the Chairman of the Commission will lead other management team to monitor the Mock Accreditation of voters in selected Polling Units in Edo state to test-run the deployment of BVAS for the election as well as the upload of scanned polling units results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
“The next day, on Wednesday 11th September 2024 in Benin City, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu will chair the INEC Stakeholders meeting involving the Police I.G and all relevant stakeholders in Edo state, and on Thursday 12th September 2024, the signing of the Peace Accord by candidates will take place under the supervision of the National Peace Committee chaired by General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retired), so it’s a very busy period for the Commission.”