Voter Education Department Eulogises Retired Directors, Others as INEC Secretary Harps on Dedication, Hard Work

The Voter Education and Publicity Department (VEP) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has honored its retired Directors, Deputy Directors, and other staff for their invaluable contributions to the Department in the course of their meritorious service to the Commission and the nation.

In a well-attended send-off party organized by the Department on Wednesday, 29th November 2023 in Abuja, the Secretary to the Commission Mrs Rose Oriaran-Anthony, eulogized the stellar qualities of the retired Directors and other staff. She stressed that hard work indeed pays, adding that the wealth of experience of the celebrants can be called upon at any time to serve.

The Celebrated retired Directors were the immediate past Director of VEP, Ayodele Victor Aluko, his predecessor, Nick Dazang and Deputy Directors including Andy Ezeani, Chukwuemeka Ugboaja (PhD) and Chinwe Ogbuka.

Also honored were Mrs. Peace Ugo, Mrs. Josephine Ozoemena, and Mrs. Dorathy Iyang-a serving Deputy Director who was recently transferred to Cross River State to serve as Head of the Election and Party Monitoring Department.

Recalling all the fond memories, the Secretary had working with each of the retired staff, Mrs. Rose Oriaran-Anthony said “You have all served this Commission pleasantly and meritoriously. You bowed out with your heads held high and without blemish or complaint. Please we want you to continue to represent us as good ambassadors because when we see you, we are proud that you came out of this Commission.”

“Please note it today, that at any time; you might be called upon again to come and serve either the Commission or the nation. And in whatever capacity you are called upon to serve, do not say no when you can say yes, she said”.

Turning to the serving staff of the Commission present, the Secretary said, “Celebrating these great individuals today is a testament that dedication and hard work always pay off. It may seem as if nobody is watching you but somebody somewhere is seeing what you are doing, most importantly; God Almighty who rewards you in public is watching what you do in secret”

The Secretary further said, “My dear staff of the Commission, I want to use this opportunity to encourage you to be selfless in your work. We are celebrating them today because they retired well without blemish. Let us celebrate you too when it’s your time”.

The Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Sam Olumekun mni, represented by National Commissioner and member of IVEC, Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, congratulated the retirees for successfully completing their meritorious service with their integrity intact.

She observed that serving in INEC was a divine privilege that comes with load of responsibilities and challenges. She commended the celebrants for being able to navigate the tasking turf without blemish and being in good health.

According to her “doing INEC job, you go for elections sleeping rough. That is why when people speak ill of INEC, I stand up and say do not say that because they don’t know what you suffer.

“Maybe you members of INEC will one day do a documentary on what you suffer in the name of organizing elections and let people know what you go through,”

She further urged members of staff to continue to work in camaraderie.

The Chief Technical Adviser to INEC Chairman, Prof Bolade Eyinla said that the celebration was in recognition of their contributions to the Commission and their father’s land. He noted that INEC is one of the most difficult places to work in Nigeria because of the nature and demands of the work.

The Chief Technical Adviser stressed that the retired staff had done a lot to project the image of the Commission and consequently advised the retirees not to be too far from the Commission, especially the Department they retired from, so they could continue to mentor the younger ones.

According to him, “Increasingly, we have begun to see very experienced people leaving but we are also happy we are seeing younger ones coming up; this I think, is a credit to people who are leaving that have been able to mentor those who are now growing into positions. “But do not forget to teach them as you are going that service to the land is important”.

The Acting Director VEP, Mrs Mary Nkem said that the Department deemed it necessary to celebrate the special individuals who had not only served meritoriously but also made the Commission and Nigeria proud.

She said, “to come through all these years of service in good health having made immense contributions to the development of the VEP Department, promoting democracy and doing a lot of service for the advancement of democracy in the country at large while projecting the image of the Commission and doing so with much commitment and an unblemished record is no mean feat at all and should be celebrated.

“You all agree with me that there’s a need to celebrate our guests today,” Nkem said.

Speaking on behalf of the retirees, Nick Dazang commended the staff members of the VEP Department for honoring them after retirement describing it as encouraging and touching. “Our prayer is that others coming behind us will also receive the same kind of honor and that this honor will also translate into the conduct of more exquisite and superlative elections.

“All that we tried to do in the past was to see how we could lay the foundation for credible elections and our prayer is that those who are coming after us will build on what we have started and they will even excel, do better, and surpass the record that we have put in place,” Dazang said.

Ayodele Victor Aluko also while responding on behalf of others expressed their joy to have successfully served the nation towards improving the electoral process. “We are proud of the Commission for what we have achieved over the years, the management of the electoral process is no tea party. We believe that INEC has come a long way and will continue to achieve more.”

“We also believe our country will continue to become better as we move ahead. We pray for our country, and we believe this country will be okay and we also hope to move forward,” Aluko said.

Also present at the ceremony was the Director General of the Electoral Institute, Dr. Sa’ad Umar Idris represented by the Acting Administrative Secretary, Tony Ezeomo.

Other Directors in attendance included the Commission’s Secretariat Hajia Maryam Iya Musa, Planning and Monitoring Department Madam Chika Okafor, Gender & Inclusivity Department Mrs Lakunuya Dorothy Bello, Admin. Department Mrs Olayide Okuonghae, Training Department Dr. Binta Kasim Mohammed, Health Services Dr Gammy Ajoku and Election and Party Monitoring Department Barr. Hauwa Habib.

The highlights of the occasion included the cutting of cake and presentation of gifts to the retired members of the Department.