GENERAL ELECTION 2023: NNPCL assures adequate fuel as INEC plans to deploy 100,000 vehicles and 4,000 boats 

Oru Leonard 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has been assured of adequate fuel for vehicles and boats that will be used during the 2023 general.

The INEC Boss got the assurance when he visited he led his management team to pay a visit to the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari and his Management Staff at the NNPCL Headquarters on Tuesday.

Professor Mahmood who noted that the next general election will be the 7th consecutive General Election since the restoration of democracy in 1999, said  this election will hold in two phases. The national elections (Presidential and National Assembly) which holds on Saturday 25th February 2023 to be followed two weeks later by State elections (Governorship and States Houses of Assembly) on Saturday 11th March 2023.

He said 93,469,008 registered voters are expected to elect a President, 28 State Governors and 1,462 legislators (109 Senators, 360 members of House of Representatives and 993 members of State Houses of Assembly). The Commission is mobilising about 100,000 vehicles and 4,000 boats for the deployment of personnel and materials to 176,846 polling units spread across 8,809 Registration Areas (or electoral Wards) in 774 Local Government Areas nationwide.

“However, this objective cannot be fully accomplished without the guaranteed supply of petroleum products to facilitate the movement of vehicles and boats. Hence, in our effort to mobilise every national institution to give Nigerians a pleasant experience on Election Day, the Commission believes that the NNPC, as our national oil company, is one of the critical institutions that can facilitate the attainment of our objective. We are aware of the efforts of the NNPC to ease the current situation in earnest. At the same time, we would like to appeal to you to consider the following proposals:

i. The use of the NNPC land and floating mega stations nationwide to service our election duty vehicles and boats. We will bear the cost of the products. By doing so, there will be guaranteed supply for elections;

ii. A special arrangement with other marketers in locations where the NNPC may not have dedicated stations; and

iii. Consider other options to support our seamless operations on Election Day”, he explained.

Speaking, the NNPCL Boss who acknowledged that logistic is a major component of electoral duties, said the  company has always supported the INEC, in making sure that fuel is made available to all vehicles that are involved in the electoral process, but there was no formal framework for that.

According to him, “In today’s very different, Mr chairman it not just an honor to an NNPC. It’s also a challenge to us, to come into the equation in making sure that we have a stable political system in our country and we’ll be happy to contribute to this.

“Much as even you are going to pay for the product that we’re going to deliver to you.

“Having said this chairman, we’re the largest downstream company in the country today. Six months ago, it was not so but today we have acquired huge assets since our incorporation into limited liability company and we need have spread across the country.

“That is not to say that we’re in every city and every town, it is possible that there may be some locations where we may not be present.

“We’ll work with your logistic team to identify those areas where we may not have presence so that we can bring in other marketing companies into the conversation so that the products are made available to all the 100,000 vehicles that you have indicated.”