BRIDGE Professional Development Training

A five (5) day BRIDGE Professional Development Training was organised for the Nineteen (19) Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC) staff. These participants included the Chairman, six Commissioners, BSIEC Secretary and Eleven (11) senior staff of BSIEC in Makurdi the Benue State capital. Out of nineteen participants, three were female. BSIEC Chairman and Commissioners were newly appointed to five year tenure with the responsibility of conducting Local Government Elections in Benue State before the end of the year. This workshop was conducted from 24 – 28 April 2017, as part of technical assistance from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), with funding from USAID and UKAID.

The Professional development training was intended to expose BSIEC and its senior staff to basic electoral administration and management aspects to enhance their ability to conduct incontrovertible and credible local election in Benue State. The training also provided the opportunity for participants to understand and appreciate the knowledge, skills and attitude that are required in managing an EMB and conducting elections.

The thematic modules and topics covered include: Introductions to Electoral Administrations (Elections: What it is; Why; and Types; Electoral cycle Introduction to EMBs Legal, Institutional Framework for and Challenges of Election Administration in Nigeria, Guiding Principles for Election Admin. Ethics in Election Administration and Electoral system), Strategic and Financial Planning (The planning cycle, Levels of planning, Steps in strategic planning, SMART goals in planning, Budgeting Approaches and Forecasting, The structure & Types of an Organization and their advantages & disadvantages, Organizational culture and values, Essence of communications, Chain & Barriers, Strategies for effective communication, Leadership: Meaning, Types and Objectives) Operational Planning, the big logistics event, importance of logistics planning, Electoral Security Risks Assessment and Planning, Gender Issues in Election (ECOWAS Framework); INEC Gender Policy and Implementation Challenges).

The team of facilitators for the workshop includes Uloma Osuala and Obaje Ukeh as lead facilitator.

All participants completed their reintegration plan to indicate what they could apply the knowledge acquired during the training within a period of 3 months, 6 months and 12 months. The Commission has also shown willingness to develop a five year strategic plan following the conduct of the training.