Ahead of the 2023 General Elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission has advised civil and public servants to uphold the tenets of professionalism at all times.
Chairman of the commission, Mahmood Yakubu gave the advise while delivering a keynote address on the “impact of elections on the bureaucracy in Nigeria”
at the 2022 meeting of the forum of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) with Secretaries to State Governments (SSGS), in Abuja.
Represented by INEC National Commissioner, Mr Sam Olumekun, Yakubu charged the bureaucrats to avoid being lured into politics by political office holders, stressing that politicizing the bureaucratic structure could destroy the principle of the profession.
The INEC Chairman in his submission said, “Political patronage among civil and public servants has the potential to destroy the gains attained over the years.
“Despite the myriad of challenges enumerated above among others, the impact of democratic elections on the bureaucracy in Nigeria cannot be over – emphasized.
“The remarkable of democracy in Nigeria since the commencement of this dispensation has influenced a number of remarkable reforms in the nation’s bureaucracy with a view to driving effectively government policies and programmes to grow every sector towards achieving nation building.
“The fact needs be stressed that credible elections engenders effective bureaucracy. Conversely, when elections are fraught with malpractices, the recruitment process of political office holders is negatively impacted. In effect, public office holders may not have what it takes to put in place credible bureaucracy to better the lot of the ruled”.
He urged Nigerians to support INEC in the onerous task of delivering a free, fair, and credible election amidst the insecurity challenge confronting the country, as the nation gears up for another democratic transition in 2023.
