The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHHR) has called for strengthening the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), rejecting calls to create another agency to oversee electoral activities.

Debo Adeniran, president of CDHHR, made this call during an interview on Sunday in Lagos.

Mr Adeniran, also the chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL), said creating another agency could lead to duplication of functions, unnecessary bureaucratic bottlenecks and possible rivalry among government institutions.

He was reacting to calls to establish a separate body to monitor electoral activities, including political violence, campaign spending, and violations of electoral laws.According to him, INEC can create specialised units within the commission to monitor different aspects of electioneering.

He suggested that such units could monitor political speeches, physical conduct, campaign financing and other activities of political parties.

“We should not create another body whose function will overlap with that of INEC and that it will only prolong bureaucracy,” he said.

Mr Adeniran said security and anti-corruption agencies could also support INEC by providing relevant information on political activities and campaign spending.

He said cases involving economic and financial crimes could be referred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), while other relevant agencies could handle matters within their mandates.

He also called for closer monitoring of political spending by financial institutions during the election period.

According to him, political parties and candidates must comply with existing financial regulations and avoid using public funds to finance political campaigns.

Mr Adeniran said effective monitoring would require well-funded and properly equipped agencies with the necessary human and technological resources.

He also spoke on the debate over petroleum subsidy, saying the government should not reverse the removal of subsidy.

He argued that subsidy had encouraged fraudulent practices, including fake importation and other forms of abuse.

Mr Adeniran said the resources saved from subsidy removal could support government programmes and improve the welfare of Nigerians.

He said paying civil servants regularly would also stimulate economic activity, as they would spend their income on goods and services produced by other Nigerians.

“More money will go into the hands of the ordinary Nigerian. So, this will eventually trickle down to the grassroots,” he said.

He urged political actors to focus on policies that would improve Nigerians’ lives rather than campaigns that could return the country to practices that allegedly benefited only a few people.

(NAN)