*The Independent National Electoral Commission discloses the two-day capacity building workshop for Public Affairs Officers aimed at strengthening archiving, cataloguing and documentation practices across the Commission in Nigeria
Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced a two-day capacity building workshop for Public Affairs Officers (PAOs) drawn from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
INEC said the training programme aimed at strengthening archiving, cataloguing and documentation practices across the Commission.
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The Voter Education and Publicity (VEP) Department organised the workshop held September 22-23, 2026, in Abuja, FCT.
The workshop has the theme: “Preserving Institutional Memory Through Effective Archiving and Documentation”.
Declaring the workshop open, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), represented by Victoria Eta-Messi, Director of Voter Education and Publicity at INEC, described archiving as a critical function of the Commission that has often been overlooked.
Haruna stated: “It is a key leg in the department that we have our archiving done properly, for posterity, for reference, for lesson learning.”
Haruna, Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee noted that materials from previous election cycles were often left unpreserved in states, limiting the Commission’s ability to conduct comparative analysis and build on past experience.
He also said the newly established Graphics, Library and Documentation (GLD) Division was created to address this gap.
The Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee charged PAOs to take the training seriously as they would double as GLD Desk Officers in their respective states across the country.
Haruna further said: “I want to enjoin us to please take this engagement and interaction seriously.
“So, that by the time we go back to our respective states, we will be better prepared and positioned to begin to do the work of GLD.
In his remarks at the forum, Mr. Adedayo Oketola, Chief Press Secretary (CPS)/Media Advviser to INEC Chairman, also underscored the importance of the workshop, particularly as the Commission geared up for the 2027 General Elections.
Oketola encouraged the participants to take the skills and knowledge acquired from the training to their respective states and be implementers of the vision to adequately and effectively preserve the Commissions memories.
Speaking at the workshop also, the Deputy Director of Graphics, Library and Documentation, in her remarks on the objectives of the workshop, described the exercise as a long overdue return to standard practice in records management.
She noted that many states could not readily produce documented records of past Commission activities, a situation she said undermines the credibility and institutional authority of INEC’s information officers.
The Deputy Director of Graphics, Library and Documentation also noted: “The Commission’s credibility rests as much on its memory as on its neutrality.
“You cannot defend a decision you can no longer explain.”
Undocumented practice increases the risk of inconsistent application of guidelines across state and local offices, as well as litigation and public trust challenges.
Quoting the writer Adjori Augustine, she told participants that “what you don’t put down doesn’t exist.”
According to her, documentation, and not confidence alone, gives officers the evidence needed to defend the Commission’s decisions and history.
The Deputy Director of Graphics, Library and Documentation as well disclosed the Commission would establish a central, secure archive covering election guidelines, results documentation, litigation records, post-election reviews and pictorial materials from Commission activities nationwide, describing this as essential preparation ahead of the 2027 General Elections.
Participants in the workshop are expected to undergo practical sessions on digital documentation on the second day of the training, with further engagements planned to monitor implementation of the new archiving standards across states ahead of the 2027 elections.