Aernan Lubem
Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has flagged off the training of its 82 officials nationwide as Registration Area Technical Support (RATECH).
The three days training which commenced Tuesday will have the officials trained on new technology ahead of the 2023 general election.
In his remark at the Training of Masters Trainers on Election Technology for the 2023 General Election in Abuja, the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, on Tuesday, said the Commission was convinced that a critical success factor in the deployment of technology in elections was training, noting that there was need to build the capacity of staff involved, not only to competently handle the devices during the accreditation process, but also respond effectively to any glitches that might occur during elections.
Yakubu added that the 82 trained officials will train more officials at zonal level to cover all the 8,809 Registration Areas. The INEC Chair, therefore, urged the trained staff to take the training seriously as their roles as a master trainer is critical to the success of credible election.
In his goodwill message, the Country Director, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, Seray Jah, acknowledged that the training is significant as it presents a huge opportunity for the Commission to enhance the transparency and credibility of elections through the deployment of technology on a large scale for the conduct of the 2023 general election, using the Electoral Act 2022.
