The Situation Room is made up of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working in support of credible and transparent elections in Nigeria numbering more than 70.
The Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room has expressed their displeasure at the alleged plan by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to erase data captured by the the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) during the recent presidential election.
The Situation Room is made up of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working in support of credible and transparent elections in Nigeria numbering more than 70.
This was stated in a statement made available to the public on Tuesday by the group’s convener, Ene Obi, and Co-Conveners Asma'u Joda and James Ugochukwu, urging INEC to explain how the commission intends to preserve the information of voters captured by the machine for possible review ahead of future elections.
The statement reads: “The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (Situation Room) is concerned about the question of preservation of data collected during the Presidential and National Assembly elections of 25th February 2023. Situation Room will like the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to clarify to the public how it intends to ensure that data collected in the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) used in the election will be preserved for use in the review and audit of the elections.
“Electoral accountability requires that information collected during elections are preserved for use in the audit and review of the election and for accountability purposes. In the light of the disputations that have emerged and the controversy surrounding the 2023 general elections, Situation Room is asking INEC to ensure that its records and data related to the election are held safely and securely to ensure its use for the purposes of scrutiny and accountability.
“Reports indicating that the BVAS may need to be reconfigured or even erased for the upcoming State Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections due on Saturday, 11th March 2023 is a serious cause for concern and we worry that this could further pose additional credibility questions over the integrity and conduct of the 2023 general elections.”
The Steering Committee is made up of Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), CLEEN Foundation, Action Aid Nigeria, Centre for Women and Adolescent Empowerment, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), African Centre for Entrepreneurship and Information Development (ACEIDEV), Justice Development and Peace Commission (JPDC) Nnewi, ASPILOS Foundation, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Mac-Jim Foundation, Kimpact Development Initiative, Democratic Action Group (DAG), Women's Rights to Education Programme, EDO CSOs, Young Innovators and Vocational Training Initiative (YVITI), and New Initiative for Social Development (NISD), among others.
Other groups include Centre LSD, CISLAC, WARD-C, Proactive Gender Initiative (PGI), Enough is Enough Nigeria, WANGONET, JDPC, Yiaga Africa, Development Dynamics, Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN), Stakeholder Democracy Network, Human Rights Monitor, Reclaim Naija, CITAD, Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution (CHRCR,) Nigerian Women Trust Fund, The Albino Foundation, Emma Ezeazu Centre for Good Governance and Accountability (formerly Alliance for Credible Elections), and Electoral Hub.