The Commission also stated that its “No PVC, No Voting” policy would remain in effect, even as it urged registered voters to collect their PVCs in order to vote in general elections and other elections.

The electoral umpire stated that it would continue to investigate the use of technology in elections such as BVAS.

The National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, Mr. Festus Okoye, said yesterday in Abuja at a Media/Civil Society Organizations, CSO, Interface on Identifying and Mitigating Flashpoints of Electoral Misinformation and Disinformation organised by the International Press Centre, IPC, that the 2023 general election will be based on the Electoral Act 2022, which introduced new and creative innovation on the electoral ecosystem.

He said: “In furtherance of efforts to ensure free, fair, and credible elections, the Commission continues to explore the use of technology in our elections. One of such innovation in preparation for the 2023 general election is the replacement of the SCR with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to improve and strengthen the voter verification, authentication and accreditation process. The use of the BVAS for voter accreditation and authentication is irreversible and backed by law.”

Speaking on the issue of Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVCs, Okoye added: “The collection of the Pe is an ongoing exercise. There remain uncollected PVCs from previous registrations. The Commission has developed Guidelines for PVC collection especially for those that registered between January 2022 and July 2022. The collection of the PVCs will start on the 12th day of December 2022 and end on the 22nd day of January 2023. The Commission’s policy of “No PVC, No Voting” will continue to subsist and registered voters should endeavour to collect their PVCs to vote in the 2023 general election and other elections.”

In recognition of the important role that stakeholders play in the electoral and political processes, the Commission in preparation for the 2023 general election, said it was engaging with political parties, civil society organizations, the media and security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICEES).

“Apart from the regular quarterly meetings, special meetings are convened to brief stakeholders and to discuss the important electoral issue of voter access to polling units, introduction of new electoral technologies and election security. These engagements have proved very useful in building trust and confidence in the electoral process. The Commission will also continue to engage with all stakeholders, including relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government to seek areas of collaboration in improving the electoral process.”

He called on the critical stakeholders to rise and fight the spectre of misinformation and disinformation and resist deliberate falsehood aimed at delegitimizing the Commission and the electoral process .

While assuring that INEC would remain true to its commitment to openness and transparency, the electoral umpire said “it is important to verify information before sharing. The Commission believes that the antidote to fake news is greater openness and transparency. As we continue to prepare for the 2023 general election, the Commission will rely on the support of all stakeholders and friends of Nigeria to overcome the identified challenges. Resort to misinformation and disinformation will not help in the growth and sustenance of the electoral and democratic process.”

Earlier in his address, the Executive Director of International Press Center, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, stated that the media would not effectively perform the function of providing citizens with the information they need to make informed choices at elections, if the same citizens are confused about what to believe and what not to believe.

The interface was holding within the context of the need to make appropriate strategic response to the twin-menace of misinformation and disinformation so that the worst of information disorder do not envelope the electoral landscape.

He expressed optimism that the matters arising from this interactive session wiould contribute to the design of appropriate fact-checking tools and messages through short videos, hackathons and other ICE materials on combatting fake news in the electoral process.

“The fact-checking of claims by politicians under the on-going monitoring of media coverage of 2023 elections, the establishment of a fact-checking unit in IPC’s news portal and media resource – the Nigeria Democratic Report – (www.ndr.org.ng), the empowerment of citizens with the knowledge to detect fake news, etc, are the other activities by IPC geared towards sanitising the electoral information space.”