Nigerian printers under the aegis of the Chartered Institute of Professional Printers of Nigeria (CIPPON) on Thursday threatened to sue the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for allegedly printing a large number of its electoral materials outside Nigeria.
According to the institute, INEC’s action contravenes CIPPON Act 24 of 2007 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Act empowers CIPPON with the duty of regulating, controlling, managing, and administration of printers, the business of printing, and other printing related-matters in the country.
President of CIPPON, Mr Olugbemi Malomo who made the threat in an interview with Punch seen by Truth Live News noted that although the electoral body had been awarding printing jobs to local printers, he insisted that outsourcing contracting printing contracts to foreign firms was a violation of the law.
Malomo further disclosed that legally, INEC was part of INEC’s obligation to award the printing of all electoral materials, including ballot papers to local printers through CIPPON.
Quoting section 23b of the CIPPON Act, Malomo said, “In regulating the registration of printing practitioners, the council ensures that no firm or partnership shall practice as printers in Nigeria unless it is registered by the council.’’
However, he revealed that after its visit to INEC’s Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, in Abuja last year, there was considerable improvement in the awards of contracts to Nigerian printers.
“There was an increase in patronage of our members. To that extent, that advocacy was meaningful. The second point is what percentage were we able to get? We have not been able to collate that.
While responding to insinuations that Nigerian firms may not possess the capacity to deliver the job on time at the required time, Malomo argued that ballot papers had been demystified by the transition to electronic voting.
“No single company could deliver the quantum of ballot papers and other material needed for the election, he said the excuse of lack of capacity usually leveled against Nigerian printers had also been eliminated by the amended Electoral Act, which had given INEC adequate time to prepare for elections.