The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, says, after a review as provided by its regulations and guidelines, 134 groups (124 domestic and 10 international) out of 153 applications received from interested organisations met the requirements for accreditation.
In a statement signed by National Commissioner & Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee Sam Olumekun the classification of the organisations shows that 28 are gender-based, three representing Persons with Disability, eight are faith-based, 10 foreign and over 100 others working in areas relevant to the functions of INEC, most of them with previous experience of election observation.
Olumekun added noted that the next step is for the accredited organisations to upload the personal details and photographs of their field observers to our dedicated portal established for that purpose.
He added that the Commission is organising a one-day training for representatives of observer groups on Wednesday 17th July 2024 at the Commission's Conference Room in Abuja at 10.00am.
"Access Code to the portal and letters of accreditation will be given to representatives of the accredited organisations at the training venue.
"Details of the one-day training as well as the comprehensive list of all the 134 accredited groups have been uploaded to our website and social media platforms for action by the concerned organisations and for public information." he said
The Edo State Governorship elections will be held on September 21, 2024, while that of Ondo state will be held on November 16, 2024.
The declaration is in pursuance of the provisions of Section 178 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) states that election into the said offices shall be held not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the tenure of the last holder of the office.
Similarly, Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 requires the Commission to publish Notice for the Election not later than 360 days before the date of the election.
The commission further said that details of the elections would be published and made public both on the INEC website and across its social media platforms.