Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has praised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting the presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25. Despite some irregularities, NBA President Yakubu Maikyau acknowledged that the elections went well and those who came out were happy to exercise their franchise.
However, Maikyau noted that there were challenges and infractions that constituted electoral offenses, and urged INEC to address them before the forthcoming governorship and House of Assembly elections. Speaking on Channels TV to review the first leg of the 2023 elections, Maikyau scored INEC’s performance at about 78-80 percent, which he regarded as an A in every exam.
While acknowledging the good performance of INEC, Maikyau urged the commission to take deliberate steps to ensure that the lapses witnessed in the February 25th elections are not repeated in the upcoming elections on March 11th. According to him, the lapses that occurred impacted on the confidence of the public in the process.
The NBA commends INEC for a job well done but calls for improvements to ensure that the governorship and House of Assembly elections are conducted without any irregularities.