As part of efforts to ensure personnel of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are in good health conditions ahead of the 2023 general elections, a civil society organisation, Media Advocacy and Technology Centre on Wednesday took a medical check-up outreach to INEC headquarters, Ilorin, Kwara State.
The one-day medical outreach was held at the premises of the electoral umpire with an impressive turnout of INEC staff that were attended to by a team of qualified medical personnel.
Speaking on the sideline of the event, the Executive Director of Media Advocacy and Technology Centre, Musa Aliyu, said we believe that having a healthy INEC would go a long ways in giving us a credible election come 2023.
“We organised this event in collaboration with Nigeria Medical Association, and Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria in Kwara state, to ensure that the coming general election is healthy for the people of Kwara state.
“We believe that having healthy INEC, election managers’ is one of the ways through which we can have credible free and fair polls that will be acceptable to all.
“We budgeted for about 200 INEC workers with different health conditions, ranging from blood pressure, blood sugar, body pressure, and several other things that might be their complaints. We equally include a referral system in case we may not be able to attend to some people here”
He added that his organization intend to carry out the medical outreach to INEC staff in local government areas and beyond, depend on availability of resources.
“We intend to take the outreach to INEC officers at LGAs too, depending on the availability of resources”
Speaking on the quality of check-ups, Dr Yusuf Amuda Abbas, said “we are carrying out a complete medical check-up and giving them medication based on their symptoms and complaints”
Expressing gratitude on behalf of the beneficiaries, the head of INEC voter education and publicity, Adamu Musa, “we appreciate the CSO for this gesture, which intends to give us more strength and health to face the forthcoming election.
“The organization is not new to us as a commission, they have been helping us in terms of sensitization and extending it to health is a good development and we hope they will extend the gesture to our staff at local government areas in the state”
Adamu, also reaffirm the commitment of INEC to the 2023 general elections said “if you look at our fourteen itemised activities towards the 2023 general election nine have been completed, we have started receiving some of our non-sensitive materials with our management staff having retreat as part of the preparation for the election” he said
The CSO also presented first aid box to the management of INEC.
