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Tag: Mahmood Yakubu

  • Tenure of LG Chairmen, councillors now 4 years – INEC Chair, Mahmood Yakubu

    Tenure of LG Chairmen, councillors now 4 years – INEC Chair, Mahmood Yakubu

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday said that the tenure of the incumbent chairmen and councillors of the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will expire in June 2026.

    INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood  Yakubu made the clarification in Abuja at a meeting of the commission with the leaders of  Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) FCT chapter, led by the council’s National Chairman, Yusuf Dantalle.

    The delegation was at INEC with the sole purpose of seeking the commission’s clarification on the tenure of the current officers of the six area councils as well as the 62 councillors in the FCT.

    He said that based on the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended), the current elected executives of FCT area councils have a four-year tenure.

    Yakubu said that INEC had earlier received inquiries from some law firms, an individual, a political party and one FCT Chairmanship Aspirants’ Forum regarding the tenure of FCT area councils and demands for the Commission to release timetable for the elections.

    He said that the inquiries were based on the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) which was the subsisting law at the time the area council elections were held on Feb. 12 2022.

    “The Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) provides for a three-year tenure for Chairmen and Councillors which, in their opinion, expires 2025.

    “However, Nigerians are aware that the National Assembly has since repealed and re-enacted the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) as the Electoral Act 2022.

    “In particular, in the exercise of its powers as the law-making body for the FCT, the National Assembly extended the tenure of the Area Councils from three to four years, thereby aligning it with executive and legislative elections nationwide.

    “This is one of the important provisions of the Electoral Act 2022. The Act came into force on Friday Feb. 25 2022, two weeks after the last Area Council elections in the FCT.

    “By the time the elected Chairmen and Councillors were sworn-in four months later on June 14, 2022, they took their oath of allegiance and oath of office on the basis of the new electoral Act (i.e. the Electoral Act 2022) which provides for a four-year tenure.

    “Consequently, their tenure therefore expires in June 2026,’’ Yakubu said.

    The INEC chairman said tenure was not defined by the date of election but the date of the oath of office for executive elections or the date of inauguration for legislative houses.

    Yakubu said that an officer-elect (president/vice, governor, senator, house member, chairman or councillor) cannot exercise the powers of office and draw from the remunerations attached to it until such a person is sworn-in or the legislative house is inaugurated.

    “The Constitution empowers INEC to hold elections not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the end of tenure of incumbent officers.

    “In the case of the FCT, Section 108(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 under which the current Chairmen and Councillors were sworn-in on 14th June 2022 is clear and therefore unambiguous:

    “(1) An Area Council shall stand dissolved at the expiration of 4 years commencing from the date –

    (a)          When the Chairman took the oath of office; or (b) when the legislative arm of the Council was inaugurated whichever is earlier”.

    Yakubu added that there were several judicial authorities; including the judgement of the Supreme Court that tenure begins from the date of oath of office and not the date of election.

    “The Law Firms that have written INEC on behalf of their clients ought to have drawn their attention to both the law and judicial pronouncements on the matter.

    “You may also wish to note that when the Electoral Act 2022 was signed into law two weeks after the commission conducted the last area council elections in the FCT, the incumbent holders (chairmen and councillors) challenged us;

    “That we conducted the election too early, claiming that the new Electoral Act extended their tenure from three to four years.

    “We reminded them that they took their oath of office under the old law before the coming into force of the new Electoral Act. Therefore, their tenure will expire in June 2022,’’ Yakubu said.

    He reassured IPAC that INEC was aware of its responsibilities under the law, hence would release the timetable and schedule of activities for the election at the appropriate time.

    He said that the FCT area council election conducted by INEC remained a model for local government elections in the country.

    He pledged that INEC would continue to uphold the sanctity of tenure and improve the credibility of those elections.

    Yakubu appealed to all persons with ambition to contest for the positions of chairmen and councillors in the FCT to be guided by the provisions of the law and judicial pronouncements on the issue of tenure.

    He also appealed to political parties to enlighten their members accordingly

    Speaking earlier, Dantalle said they were at INEC for the commission to clarify the tenure of the FCT area council.

    “There have been issues about if they are meant to spend three or four years in office.

    “I recall that in the previous meeting, the national leadership of political parties had with the commission, this issue has been clarified.

    “But I feel it will be necessary to invite IPAC general assembly of the FCT to come with me to the commission for first-hand information about the status of the tenor of the elected officers in FCT,’’ Dantalle said.

  • Flood disaster: Edo election will go on as planned – INEC

    Flood disaster: Edo election will go on as planned – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that the Edo State Governorship election will go on as planned in spite of the damage caused by last Friday flood.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu made the disclosure on Thursday while affirming that the damaged facilities in the Edo office would be replaced before the September 21 governorship election.

    Yakubu said this during an on the spot assessment of the level of damage done to its facilities by the flood disaster occasioned by torrential rain in Benin city on May 24.

    The flood disaster destroyed some voter enrollment machines already configured for the Continuous Voter Registration exercise.

    Speaking after the inspection of the facilities, Yakubu said he was in Benin to assess the level of damage with a view to immediately profer solutions to whatever problems that has arose from the dusaster.

    He said the flood disaster would not hinder the smooth conduct of the governorship election in the state, adding that the commission would do an assessment of what was damaged and respond appropriately.

    He expressed joy that no life was lost to the flood.

    “This is not a regular visit. We are here to see what happened to our facilities after the flooding that occurred on Friday, May 24.

    “I came here with the Director of ICT because some machines were destroyed and I also came with the federal controller of works because he would be helping us to address the flooding problems in and around the INEC office in Benin.

    “Providing working equipment and ensuring a conducive work environment is as crucial as paying salaries. So we will ensure that we fix the damaged facilities before the election,” he said.

    The INEC chairman also disclosed that the CVR exercise would continue in spite of the damage caused by the flood disaster.

    He, however, described the turnout of registrants as impressive, stressing that the damaged facilities poses no threat to the ongoing CVR and election.

    “We took proactive measure to ensure that the CVR was not affected by calling for additional resources from neighboring states since INEC was one national body.

    According to him, the present Commission has enough experience in conducting governorship election and this is the third governorship election we will be conducting in Edo since 2016.

    Earlier, the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Anugbum Onuoha thanked the Chairman for being proactive in responding to the disaster.

  • LG elections mere coronation – INEC

    LG elections mere coronation – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has advised States Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) to ensure that local government councils elections are credible in all states.

    INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this when he received the executives of the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions (FOSIECOM) in his office on Wednesday in Abuja.

    He also advised state governors to allow the SIECs some level of independence to enable them conduct credible polls.

    Yakubu said the conduct of local councils elections was fundamental to the proper functioning of the Nigerian   democracy.

    He said that although both INEC and SIECs were created by the constitution, SEICs were responsible for the conduct of local councils elections, while INEC was uncharge of federal and state elections.

    He said that INEC was also empowered by Section 98 of the Electoral Act 2022 to conduct local government or area council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Yakubu said that over the years, attempts were made to encourage the SIECs to maintain their independence.

    This,  according to him,  included the signing of Memorandum of Understanding with SIECs in the form of training, provision of some facilities, and institutionalisation of the culture of planning.

    He said that INEC also established the joint INEC/FOSIECOM consultative committee headed by a national commissioner.

    Yakubu said all these initiatives were done in the firm belief that by working together, the 36 SIECs would leverage on the experience of INEC for a progressive improvement in the conduct of local government elections.

    “Unfortunately, the conduct of local government election in virtually all the states of the Federation has become mere coronation of candidates of the ruling parties.

    “It is time to stop the coronation and conduct proper elections. State governors should allow the SIECs to have greater capacity for independent action.

    “Many of the SIECs have no functional offices in the local government areas in their states and cannot recruit their own permanent staff.

    “In some states, the SIECs are either not properly constituted, have no security of tenure or their critical functions have been taken over by government officials,” he said.
    Yakubu added: “Some SIECs are only constituted on the eve of elections and dissolved thereafter.

    “They are also severely under-resourced to the extent that some of them rely on INEC even for basic facilities such as ballot boxes and voting cubicles.”

    He said that consequently, many Nigerians including some candidate in local government elections mistook the SIECs for INEC.

    This situation according to Yakubu,  had forced INEC to reconsider some aspects of its relationship with the SIECs.

    “Our support is now largely restricted to the voters’ register as provided by the Constitution.

    “ INEC cannot shoulder its own extensive responsibilities and at the same time extend almost limitless support to other independent electoral commissions for elections outside our mandate across the country from our lean federal budget,’’ he said.

    Yakubu appealed to the commissions to learn from the FCT area council election conducted by INEC, so they could enhance the credibility of LG polls.

    “While there are legal and financial constraints to your operations, your independence does not necessarily draw from statutory or financial provisions alone.

    “The courage with which you discharge your obligation to protect the integrity and credibility of elections is the most important determinant of success.

    “There are no shortcuts to the discharge of this enormous responsibility,’’ he said.

    While assuring SIECs of INEC’s  continued support to push the boundaries of electoral reform, Yakubu said there must be a determination on SIECs part to do the needful.

    Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of FOSIECOM, Chief Jossy Eze, called for  review of the MoU between INEC and the forum to make SIECs more functional and effective in the face of changing electoral needs, challenges and expectations.

    Eze said it would also give the forum more impetus and new direction toward achieving the core objectives of conducting free, fair and credible elections at all levels.

    He also called for the development of a new strategic work plan for support to SIECS which the last plan was for the period of 2019-2023.

    Eze, also the Chairman, Ebonyi SIEC, appreciated INEC’S innovations to improve Nigeria’s elections as well as its support to the struggle of SIECS, toward financial independence.

    “We strongly believe that our financial independence is not only achievable but a sine qua non for virile Local Government elections in Nigeria.

    “FOSIECON has again,  recently submitted a memorandum to the National Assembly Committee on Constitutional amendment.

    “We solicit INEC to throw its weight behind our quest for true independence,’’ he said.

  • By-elections: INEC seeks NAF’s support for logistics delivery

    By-elections: INEC seeks NAF’s support for logistics delivery

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday,  support of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) for election materials delivery.

    The deliveries would be made to the North-East, South-East and the South-West geo-political zones of the country, for the Saturday, Feb. 3  rerun and by-elections.

    The INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu stated this when he visited the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar in Abuja , over  the  re-run and by-elections holding in 26 states of the federation.

    Yakubu said the elections would fill vacancies in three Senatorial Districts, 17 Federal and 28 State Constituencies spread across 80 Local Government Areas.

    He added that the elections holding in 575 Registration Areas/Wards and 8,934 Polling Units,  involved 4,904,627 registered voters out of which 4,613,291 Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) had  been collected.

    “In handling such a huge national assignment, the commission cannot do it alone. That is why we seek to mobilise every national asset, including NAF.

    “It is in realisation of this objective that the law empowers the commission to seek the support of the security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

    “The commission needs their support in the delivery of materials and the protection of election officials as clearly provided for in Section 27(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.

    “The elections are holding on Saturday. Working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), materials are being delivered to many locations.

    “However, given the size and distance of some constituencies, we seek for the support of NAF to expeditiously deliver materials to the North-East, South-East and the South-West geo-political zones of the country.

    “We have already indicated to the chief of the air staff,  the specific locations and the tonnage of materials to be airlifted.”

    According to him, the evacuation of the materials from the focal airports to the states where election will hold will be handled by the commission and the CBN as has been the standard practice.

    “Thereafter, the inspection and movement of all materials to the various local government areas and beyond will be done with the full participation of all stakeholders, particularly agents of political parties and candidates, observers and the media in a transparent manner,” he said.

    Yakubu commended NAF for its cooperation in  security and logistic support  and  for the timely delivery of materials during the  general elections, off-cycle elections, by-elections, supplementary elections and rerun elections.

    “I want to place on record the neutrality and professionalism of NAF in particular and armed forces in general in discharging your responsibilities.

    “There has been no unhappy incidents or compromise on the part of your officers and airmen,” Yakubu said.

    In his remarks, the CAS, Abubakar, assured INEC that the force would continue to support the commission to deliver credible elections to strengthen the country’s democracy.

    Abubakar said the relationship between NAF and INEC had been anchored on shared objectives geared toward ensuring that good governance, stability and the rule of law reign throughout Nigeria.

    The CAS described visit of Yakubu as a sign of commitment to strengthen the bonds between both organisations.

    “The successful conduct of elections is largely hinged on robust security and well-choreographed logistics supply chain management.

    “The NAF has been INEC’s dependable partner in providing security in addition to rapid airlift for the distribution of sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials across the country.

    “I assure you that we remain willing  and able and ready to continue supporting INEC as we have always done in the past.

    “At the moment, our C-130s are currently undergoing maintenance but we have other aircraft that can be employed to move sensitive materials.

    “The caveat is that we need to move those materials a little earlier due to the capacity of the airplanes which we have available,” he said.

    Abubakar commended the contributions and numerous initiatives of INEC under Yakubu’s watch toward deepening of Nigeria’s democracy,  including serving as shining example for other nations of the world.

    Some of the initiatives according to Abubakar include continuous voter registration, introduction of new technologies, voter education and sensitisation and post-election reviews.

    “Another laudable milestone achieved was the Electoral Act of 2022, which introduced reforms aimed at more timely organisation of pre-electoral processes and increasing transparency in results collation and reporting.

    “These and many more reforms have raised the bar of transparency and credibility in our electoral process.

    “We thus join the chorus of voices commending your efforts and stand proud as friends of your esteemed organisation,” he said.

    Abubakar said the success of Nigeria democracy had been underpinned by strong institutions such as  INEC, which worked  tirelessly to allow all citizens to enjoy the right to decide who should govern them in free and fair elections.

    “The invaluable contributions of the INEC, distinguishes democracy as a form of governance unparalleled in its commitment to the people.

    “Furthermore, it lends credence to the slogan that democracy is the best form of government known to man,” he said.

    Abubakar, however, reminded the INEC chairman that there were some outstanding bills which were yet to be cleared, which Yakubu interjected “ but not from INEC”.

    Yakubu said that the settlement of those bills would enable the force to serve INEC better.

  • IPAC dissociates from planned protest against INEC Chairman

    IPAC dissociates from planned protest against INEC Chairman

    The Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has dissociated itself from a planned protest by organisations calling for the resignation of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

    Mr Sani Yabagi, the National Chairman, IPAC, said this in a statement on Monday in Abuja, saying that it had no hand in the protest tagged ‘’Occupy INEC rally’’.

    Yabagi said that as a major stakeholder in the democratic process that fielded candidates and participated in all elections conducted by INEC and States Independent Electoral Commission (SIECs), IPAC was interested in credible election and political stability in the country.

    “The council is in the vanguard of promoting and stimulating free, fair, credible, transparent and peaceful elections in accordance with the law, and ensuring political stability in the country.

    “IPAC regularly interfaces with INEC, relevant arms of government, development partners and civil society organizations where crucial national issues including conduct of credible elections are discussed and chart the way forward in consolidating and deepening democracy in Nigeria.

    “While aggrieved political parties and their candidates that participated in the 2023 general election and the off-season governorship elections are at various election tribunals and courts to seek redress, it will be inappropriate to occupy the commission at this critical period as it is involved in all the litigations.

    “It Is obvious that some of the elections did not meet the expectations of Nigerians, which is why aggrieved political parties have approached the court for adjudication and the need for further reform of the nation’s electoral process to meet international standards that will curb post-elections petitions,” he said.
    Yabagi added:“IPAC is not involved and will not participate in the occupy INEC rally. The organisers should stop dropping IPAC’s name in their bid to attract supporters.”

  • INEC won’t count votes in polling unit with violence – Yakubu

    INEC won’t count votes in polling unit with violence – Yakubu

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says it won’t count votes in any polling unit where violence occurs in Saturday’s governorship election in Bayelsa.

    The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this in Yenagoa, at a stakeholders meeting.

    Yakubu, represented by the INEC National Commissioner supervising Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers, Mrs May Agbamuche-Mbu, said that INEC would deploy BVAS to all polling units for the election.

    “I want to let you know that our BVAS have been customized for INEC, so INEC details and the name of the parties are on the BVAS, so any BVAS you see without INEC details cannot be from INEC.

    “Another thing, we have all the list of the serial number of the BVAS we are going to use, the result sheets will be sign at the polling units.

    “Where there is violence, it will be zero, we will not return to that polling unit to conduct election.

    “We have recruited and carefully train all category of ad-hoc staff to be deployed to the field, all non sensitive materials have been distributed to all the eight local government area offices of the state, voter education and sensitization is ongoing,” he said.

    Yakubu added: “We have made arrangement for the transportation of personnel and materials to ensure that polling unit open on schedule on election day.

    “For more effective supervision of the process, we are deploying two National Commissioners, eight resident electoral Commissioners to support our office in Bayelsa, I wish to assure you of our commitment to free, fair and credible election come Saturday.”

    Speaking, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Tolani Alausa, said the police were fully prepared to ensure peaceful election on Saturday.

    Represented by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Charge of Operations, Mr Ijamah Daniel, Alausa said that the force would deploy enough personnel for the election.

    “In every polling unit, we are going to deploy three to six personnel, outside that, the IGP has deployed as much as 21 unit of mobile police force, under tactical unit like the special force, the counter terrorism unit, special protection unit are all coming to Bayelsa.

    “I will advise every one of us to be law abiding, because we are prepared to withstand any type of challenge that will arise, we are equal to the task,” he said.

  • Yakubu assures of paying staff allowances, ahead of guber poll

    Yakubu assures of paying staff allowances, ahead of guber poll

    The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has promised to ensure payment of all staff allowances, ahead of the Nov.11 Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo governorship election.

    Yakubu said this when he addressed the commission’s members of staff in Yenagoa, during a visit to assess the preparations for the election in the state.

    The commission said this in its bulletin issued in Abuja.

    “I know that many of you are not happy because you have not received the alert for the 40 per cent palliative awarded to all civil servants to cushion the effect of the economic hardship being experienced due to the removal of the fuel subsidy,” Yakubu said.

  • Yakubu charges INEC staff on integrity, ahead of Nov.11 guber poll

    Yakubu charges INEC staff on integrity, ahead of Nov.11 guber poll

    The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has advised staff members of the commission to remain non-partisan and maintain their integrity, ahead of the Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi governorship election.

    Yakubu said this when he visited some INEC offices to assess preparations for the Nov.11 Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo governorship election.

    This is contained in the commission’s bulletin in Abuja.

    Yakubu said that INEC was committed to credible election in the states.

    “INEC is not a political party and does not have a candidate in the Nov. 11 governorship election.

    “All we are going to do is to ensure that the people of Bayelsa and Imo States choose whoever they want to be their governors and our responsibility is to protect the people’s choice,” Yakubu said.

    The INEC Chairman also called on the Electoral Officers (Eos) in both states to ensure that all Registration Area Centres (RACs) were fully activated early enough to enable smooth conduct of the election.

    Yakubu said that part of the commission’s determination was to ensure that poll officials live up to their responsibilities on election day.

    He said that a refresher training would be organised on Friday Nov. 10 in addition to the refresher training conducted on Friday, Saturday and for Sunday.

    According to the bulletin, Yakubu and his entourage also met with Members of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICESS) in both states.

    Addressing the heads of the security agencies, Yakubu stated that the principal aim of the meeting was to appraise their readiness in preparation for the Saturday election.

    He added that measures to guarantee the protection of Voters, Election Personnel, Materials, Collation Centres and Transport Providers were among the significant security issues discussed throughout the meeting.

    Yakubu also toured some of the commission’s facilities in Yenagoa to examine the available non-sensitive materials ahead of the off-cycle election.

    The INEC Chairman was accompanied by the National Commissioners and the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in both states.

  • IREV: What PDP told INEC Chairman on Bayelsa, Kogi, Imo election results

    IREV: What PDP told INEC Chairman on Bayelsa, Kogi, Imo election results

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to honour his words of  uploading of election results from Imo, Kogi, and Bayelsa on the commission’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

    The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, made the call while addressing a news conference on Sunday in Abuja.

    Ologunagba said that the PDP has noted the statement by Yakubu that INEC would make full use of its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the IReV portal for uploading and electronic transmission of results in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi governorship election.

    “The PDP notes that the INEC chairman has confirmed the use of BVAS and IREV in this election and even in previous election is a mandatory statutory requirement of the law

    “The PDP holds Yakubu directly responsible and accountable to his pronouncements and that INEC is bound by law to electronically transmit results directly from the polling units using these technologies.

    “The PDP is fully prepared for these elections and in line with the commitment of INEC will not accept any other means of transmitting results in these elections except as this manner pronounced by the INEC Chairman in line with requirement of Electoral Act, 2022,” Ologunagba said.

    Ologunagba to that PDP had commenced training of its polling agents at all levels to ensure total compliance to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) Electoral Act, 2022, INEC Guidelines and Regulations especially as confirmed by Yakubu.

    He expressed confidence that the party would win the elections in the three states.

    He said that in Bayelsa, the PDP has Gov. Douye Diri, “a miracle and performing governor, who is on the ground and enjoys the overwhelming support of the people.”

    He said that in Kogi, the PDP has a very popular candidate, Sen. Dino Melaye’s whose popularity and public acceptance have completely dwarfed and dumbed the rejected APC candidate, Usman Ododo.

    In Imo, Ologunagba said that the PDP had a very popular candidate in Sen. Samuel Anyanwu whose popularity and acceptance across the State “have thrown the Gov. Hope Uzodimma and the APC in the State into mortal fear.

    “Anyanwu’s mission to Make Imo Safe Again is resonating across the State and overwhelming majority of the people of Imo State are rallying with him to achieve this,” Ologunagba said.

    He also reiterated the party demands for the immediate removal of INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Imo, Prof. Sylvia Agu.

    He said that the PDP and other political parties had written several letters to INEC on the demand over allegation that Agu had been compromised.

    “Recently the political parties including the PDP, Labout Party, Young Progressives Party (YPP), African Democratic Party (ADC), Action Alliance (AA) among others staged a peaceful protest to INEC demanding for her immediate removal.

    “Agu is a relation of a national officer of the APC and there are allegations that she is being further compromised to assist the APC to rig the Nov. 11 governorship election in Imo State

    “The continuing stay in office of Agu as Imo REC is provocative, inciting and amount to testing the will of the people of Imo State and daring them to do their worse.

    “INEC has a lot of RECs from which the INEC Chairman can choose to replace Agu and avoid a scenario that could be worse than what happened in Adamawa State Governorship election where INEC refused to change the compromised REC.

    “INEC chairman must note that the integrity of an election process is directly relation to the confidence of the electorate,” he alleged.

  • Bayelsa, Imo, Kogi guber polls to be uploaded on iReV – INEC Chairman

    Bayelsa, Imo, Kogi guber polls to be uploaded on iReV – INEC Chairman

    The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, says that the results for Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi governorship elections will be uploaded on its Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

    Yakubu stated this, while speaking with newsmen at Ward 009, LEA School, Ganaja Village, Ajaokuta LGA, Kogi.

    Yakubu was in the state to monitor the mock accreditation exercise, ahead the Nov. 11 governorship election.

    He said that the commission would follow the laws for accreditation and results collation during the states elections.

    “The method is as provided by law, electronic accreditation, electronic upload of results on the IREV portal and that is why we are doing this mock.

    “So, please disregard whatever was reported about what the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) was said to have said in Bayelsa.

    “That’s going to be the procedure and it’s for that reason that I will advise you also for those who are registered on the IREV portal.

    “That in the next two hours or so, go to the IREV portal and you will see the result of the mock accreditation from all the three states.

    “We are uploading, as we have done in previous elections,” Yakubu said.

    On the issue of security concerns ahead of the elections in the three states, Yakubu said that the commission was already working with security agencies.

    “Next week Friday there is going to be a high level meeting in Abuja co-chair by myself and  the National Security Adviser in which all the security chiefs will be present, no representation to discuss the issue of security.

    “For the three states elections, we are on top of the situation in terms of security arrangement and security deployment,” he said.

    On how INEC intend to control crowd at PU 009 in Ganaja, Yakubu said that INEC was taking proactive measures to give voters a pleasant voting experience on Election Day.

    He said that INEC choose the PU 009, LEA School, Ganaja Village, because it is the largest and most densely populated in Nigeria PU with 13,000 registered voters.

    He said that on the Election Day Voter register would be broken down alphabetically by the voter surnames to fast track voting process.

    “After the election, the Commission will redistribute the voters to other approximate locations.

    “But for now, we’ll have to conduct the elections with the number of registered voters in this polling unit.

    “For that reason, we are deploying a minimum of eight BVAS machines on election day, Saturday, Nov. 11 for easy accreditation of voters,” he said.

    Yakubu identified flooding as one of the challenges of the PU.

    He said that INEC was already making arrangement to use Family Support Programme (FSP) Nursery, Primary and UBE JSS, Gadumo-Lokoja as alternative supper RAC in case there was flood during the election.

    “If there is flooding before the election, we’ll pull the ad hoc staff out of here and move them at first light on Saturday to this polling unit.

    “But our preference will be to use this place as a super-RAC where we will camp the ad hoc staff overnight,” he said.

    Yakubu thereafter met with members of staff of the commission at INEC State headquarters in Lokoja.

    He said the visit was to ask the staff questions on their preparations, what had been done and what were still outstanding.

    Yakubu said that the purpose  was to assess the readiness of the state for the Nov. 11 election, adding that similar visit would be undertaking to Imo and Bayelsa states.

    “So far, so good on the part of the commission, we have delivered over non sensitive materials for the election.

    “Now the challenge is for you at the state level to begin to organise the materials and patch them.

    “Each polling unit has a pack that is going to be carried by the presiding officer supported by the system presiding officer.

    “I saw in Koton-Karfi that some of the materials have already been batched into the bags. I hope that all the local government areas will the same all over,” Yakubu said.

    Speaking earlier, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Kogi, Dr Gabriel Longpet, said that all none sensitive materials for the election had been received and sent to the LGAs.

    “We have received 60 per cent of our budget and have also started disbursing to LGAs to start those activities that need to be undertaken.

    “We would like to request the Central Bank to be directed to give us our cash directly to avoid delays and problems with transportation and RAC activation,” he said.

    Longpet said that details of areas of possible flash points  in the state had been identified, and would be the basis of security deployment.