The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, has told staff of the commission that attention will be on the electoral body during Saturday’s governorship election in Anambra State.
In a message to INEC staff on the eve of the election, Yakubu said after several months of preparations, the election will hold despite the challenging situation in the build-up to the exercise.
“Our determination to ensure that the election holds as scheduled has been unshaken. In the process, we rebuilt our fixed assets and replaced movable facilities.
“We also sought and obtained the support of the security agencies, political parties and candidates and all other stakeholders for a successful exercise.
“Over the next few days, all eyes will be on us. As you are aware, Nigerians expect the Anambra Governorship election to be an improvement on the high standards achieved in recent elections,” Yakubu said.
He said this was why the commission introduced the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for fingerprint and facial biometric authentication of voters and that the staff have been trained on the new technology.
“We have also delivered all sensitive and non-sensitive materials for the election on schedule, deployed election duty staff and made logistics arrangements to move personnel and materials to thousands of locations in Anambra State where voting and collation of results will take place.
“It is therefore imperative for all of you to ensure that every single vote counts. You must remain true to our commitment that only the voters in Anambra State determine who becomes the next Governor of the State. In doing so, you must be guided by the extant laws, our guidelines/regulations and good conscience. You should remain vigilant, principled and committed to the vision and mission of the commission,” he said.
