IFES CONDUCTS BRIDGE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING

On April 7-12, 2017, IFES Nigeria in coordination with Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) with support from USAID and UKAID, conducted a five-day BRIDGE Professional Development training for the Chairman, six Commissioners and 14 senior staff of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) in the capital city of Ikeja, Lagos State. Out of twenty participants, six were female. LASIEC Chairman and Commissioners were newly appointed to five years’ tenure with the responsibility of conducting Local Government Elections in Lagos State.

The Professional development training was intended to expose LASIEC and its senior staff to basic electoral administration and management aspects to enhance their ability to conduct incontrovertible and credible local elections in Lagos 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 training was officially opened by the Hon. Justice Ayotunde Phillips Chairman and Chief Electoral Commissioner of Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) who thanked IFES for the Training which she described as timely.

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 Administration, 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).

Obaje Ukeh and Uloma Osuala facilitated the training with Seray Jah as lead facilitator. At the end of the training, participants submitted individual as well as institutional reintegration

plans indicating how they intend to apply knowledge gained in the training in three, six and twelve months respectively. For instance, the Commission in appreciation of the importance of strategic planning, Communication and Gender in elections during the training, indicated that they will develop Strategic plan, Gender and Communication policies in the next six months.