INEC Needs 100,000 vehicles, And 4,200 Boats For The 2023 Elections 

INEC promises Nigerians that supplies and staff would be delivered on schedule on election day.

By Omotayo Olutekunbi

In order to transport supplies and staff to various polling places around the nation for the general elections in 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission’s chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, estimated that the commission will require over 100,000 trucks and over 4,200 boats.

At the signing of the updated Memorandum of Understanding between INEC and the unions representing marine and road transport workers in Abuja, in collaboration with ActionAid Nigeria, on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, Yakubu assured Nigerians of the prompt arrival of supplies and personnel on election day.

The smooth deployment of personnel and supplies on election day, he said, was the goal of the new MoU.

Explaining the logistics required for the election, Yakubu said; “The 2023 general election will involve the nationwide deployment of over 1 million personnel and massive quantities of materials twice within two weeks from our state offices to 774 local government areas, 8,809 electoral wards, and 176,846 polling units across the length and breadth of our country.

“It will require over 100,000 vehicles and about 4,200 boats that will be accompanied by naval gunboats. This is a huge undertaking that must be accomplished in the next 66 days and we are resolute in doing so to give Nigerians a pleasant voting experience.

“Let me assure Nigerians that we are determined that all polling units nationwide will open at 8.30 am on Saturday, 25th February 2023 for the presidential and national assembly elections and on Saturday, 11th March 2023 for the governorship and state house of assembly elections.

“To ensure that personnel and materials will be at the polling units on election day awaiting the arrival of voters rather than the other way round, INEC requires large numbers of vehicles, including motorcycles, tricycles, boats, and canoes in the riverine areas which cannot be met from its internal resources.”

The movement of all boats and trucks would be electronically tracked, the INEC chief said, to prevent the hijacking or diversion of workers or supplies, according to The Punch.

“The security agencies shall not only be available to escort all vehicles and boats to locations, but they will also ensure the safety and protection of all election personnel and materials. As usual, we shall track the movement of all vehicles and boats electronically and in real-time to ensure that election personnel and materials are not hijacked or diverted,” Yakubu said.

Tajudeen Baruwa, the president of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Yusuf Othman, the president of the National Association of Road Transport Owners, and Adeyanju Adewale, the president-general of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, all responded to the INEC’s announcement by promising to remain impartial throughout the election period.

Additionally, they pledged to collaborate with the electoral organization to guarantee that supplies and staff reach different polling locations early.