The Independent National Electoral Commission has commenced a capacity building workshop for its Public Affairs Officers on archiving, cataloguing and documentation as part of efforts to strengthen institutional memory ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The workshop, held in Abuja under the theme Preserving Institutional Memory Through Effective Archiving And Documentation, continues a capacity building programme for the officers that began earlier in the week with a focus on strategic communication.
In her welcome remarks, Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mrs Victoria Eta Messi, described archiving and documentation as critical components of the Commission’s work, noting that proper preservation of records would enable INEC to learn from previous electoral cycles.
She said the Graphic, Library and Documentation Division, being the youngest division in the department, required strengthened capacity across the states to effectively perform its responsibilities, urging participants to take the training seriously.
Eta Messi noted that records from previous electoral cycles were sometimes left in boxes or poorly organised, making it difficult for the Commission to conduct comparative analysis and learn from past experiences.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr Adedayo Oketola, also underscored the importance of the exercise, particularly as the Commission prepares for the 2027 General Election.
Speaking on the workshop’s objectives, Deputy Director of the Graphic, Library and Documentation Division, Mrs Perpetua Obiageri Aligwara, identified the loss of procedural knowledge and inconsistent application of guidelines as key risks of poor records management.
She stressed the need for a central and secure archive for election guidelines, results documentation, litigation records and post election reviews, saying effective documentation would help safeguard consistency and public confidence across election cycles.
Resource persons Mr Osarome Ogbebor and Mr Elijah Olawale Azeez took participants through records creation, filing practices and the protection of institutional records, with the two day training expected to equip officers with practical archiving skills.
By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed
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