Introduction for SIECs in Nigeria

From March 18 through 22, 30 members of the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) of Jigawa, Ebonyi and Gombé gathered in Abuja (Nigeria) to share ideas, practical experiences and strategies on electoral administration.The week before, SIECs counterparts from Imo, Enugu and Ekiti States received the same training.

The workshop was part of a series of BRIDGE trainings the UNDP has been organizing in Nigeria under the Democratic Governance for Development (DGD) program since 2010. The project is jointly financed by the European Union, the UK Department for International Cooperation, the Canadian International Development Agency, the Korean International Cooperation Agency and UNDP.

As the 37 Nigerian State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) are tasked with the organization of local government elections, this BRIDGE workshop was the perfect avenue for three SIECs to exchange best practices and lessons-learned on electoral administration in the specific case of Nigeria.

On Day 2 of the workshop, Mr. Ibrahim Bawa, head of the INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) Legal Department, covered the session on the “Legal Framework for Elections”. Participants were extremely interested and very encouraged by the great presentation, which was an eye-opener to the strengths and weaknesses of the Nigerian legal framework.

Facilitators to this training were:

• Ms. Kamissa Camara, Expert BRIDGE trainer and Lead Facilitator – UNDP Consultant;

• Mr. Jude Okwuonu, BRIDGE Workshop Facilitator – INEC Acting Director of Training Department;

• Mr. Hakeem Shittu & Mr. Abba Gubio, Semi-Accredited Facilitators – INEC staff.