INEC, US agency train 42,000 party agents

October 3, 2012 by Sunday Aborisade, Akure  

 

INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega
| credits: File copy

FOURTY-two thousand two hundred party agents on Tuesday began training ahead of of the October 20 Ondo State governorship election.

The training is being jointly organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission and United States-based International Republican Institute.

The participants, drawn from the 13 political parties that will take part in the election, are expected to train party agents that will be posted to the wards and polling units across the state after the programme.

The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Mr. Akin Orebiyi, said the workshop was devoted to key party agents on Election Day.

He said, “Just as we have the Presiding Officers, Election Monitors, Security Officers among others, the governorship candidate for each party also have agents who will be representing them on that that day.

“The party agents would be posted by their parties to the 3007 polling units across the state, the 203 wards, 18 local government areas and one each at the INEC headquarters.

“It is necessary for the agents to know precisely what their duties and responsibilities are as well as their rights on Election Day. This is why INEC in conjunction with the IRI decided to organise the programme.

“They would be assessed to know their level of understanding concerning their roles and responsibilities. What they know, need to know and the functions they are supposed to carry out on the Election Day.

“They should know that they are representing a party, therefore, they will accompany the sensitive materials, polling officials, right from the INEC office to the various local governments, to the wards and polling units on the Election Day.

“They are supposed to serve as the eyes and the ears of the candidates they are representing in the whole process of the election.”

The Programme Coordinator of IRI, Mr. Olayinka Lawal, said the institute supports electoral and political process all over the world to help countries achieve its goal in democracy.

SOURCE: The Punch - Nigeria's Most Widely Read Newspaper 3 October 2012.