Stop blaming INEC, watch politicians, says former national commissioner

Festus Okoye, a former National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education at Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), urged Nigerians to direct their criticism at politicians rather than the commission. Speaking Tuesday on Channels Television’s “The Morning Brief,” he said polling units are staffed mainly by local volunteers and members of the national service corps, not INEC employees. These workers, including presiding and assistant presiding officers, upload election results. Okoye also called on the media, civil society and the public to monitor political elites before, during and after elections, while continuing to improve and deploy electoral technology.