INEC says 2023 General Elections Will Hold On February 18

Pic.36. Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, addressing a stakeholders meeting on 2019 General Elections’ postponement, in Abuja on Saturday (16/2/19).
01462/16/2/2019/Sumaila Ibrahim/BJO/NAN

On Wednesday, the chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu stated that the next general election has been fixed for the 18th of February 2023, “which is exactly one year, nine months, two weeks and six days or 660 days from today”.

This was revealed during a public hearing on the National Electoral Offences Commission Bill, arranged by the Senate Committee on INEC. The chairman also said that the INEC will “introduce far-reaching reforms aimed at improving Nigeria’s electoral process,” Arise News reports.

The INEC chairman added that sponsors of electoral violence, falsifiers of election and ballot box snatchers will face prosecution.

Read the full statement below:

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.

We hope to release the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the General Election immediately after the Anambra Governorship election scheduled to hold on 6th November 2021.

In order to do so, there should be clarity and certainty about the electoral legal framework to govern the election. We are confident that the National Assembly will do the needful in earnest.

Of the numerous responsibilities carried out by the commission, the prosecution of electoral offenders has been one of the most challenging.

For instance, since the 2015 general elections, 125 cases of electoral offences were filed in various courts out of which 60 convictions have been secured so far, including the most recent one in Akwa Ibom state.

The commission would like to see more successful prosecution of offenders, not just of ballot box snatchers and falsifiers of election results but most importantly their sponsors.

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.