Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has urged all officials of the commission to be neutral in the forth coming Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi elections.
Yakubu in a message also revealed that 5,169,692 who collected their permanent voters card are expected to vote on Saturday.
He admonished all permanent and ad-hoc staff of the commission to display the highest form on professionalism and Non bias in the polls.
In his words:
“As I said repeatedly, not least during my recent readiness assessment visits to the three States, INEC is not a political party and we have no candidate in the election,” the statement reads.
“Our responsibility is to safeguard the process and ensure a level playing field for all political parties and candidates. The choice of who becomes the Governor of Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States is entirely in the hands of voters.”
The chairman also revealed that all sensitive materials have been deployed to states and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation system (BVAS) machines have been customized for use.
According to him:
Polling Unit results will be uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal. All election duty officials have been trained,”
“Arrangements have been made for land and maritime transportation to enable us commence voting on schedule.
“In spite of the extremely difficult terrain and physical infrastructure in some locations, we are determined to ensure that our officials are there waiting for voters rather than the voters waiting for our arrival.
“For these off-cycle elections, the Commission is deploying two (2) National Commissioners, nine (9) Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and Administrative Secretaries (ASs) as well as additional staff from different States to each of the three States to support the process.
They will be deployed across the senatorial zones in the States.
“Election is a multi-stakeholder responsibility. As with every election, lessons have been learnt from recent elections. We will continue to ensure free, fair and credible and inclusive elections but INEC cannot do it alone.
“We have received assurances from the security agencies that the environment will be secure for electoral activities and all participants: voters, electoral officials, accredited observers, the media and polling/collation agents.
“Political parties and candidates have signed the peace accord under the auspices of the National Peace Committee (NPC).
“Let us maintain the peace and play our roles conscientiously. By doing so, we shall continue to consolidate our democracy.”
