The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kwara State has assured the people of the state that the commission is set for the Presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday, Feb. 23.
Malam Garba Attahiru-Madami, the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) disclosed this on Friday after a review of the deployment of sensitive materials like Ballot Papers, Smart Card Readers, and Form EC8 series (Result Sheets), called on voters to come out en masseto cast their votes for candidates of their choice at the elections.
According to him, a total of 1, 149, 969 which is about 82 per cent of the total registered voters of 1, 406, 457 will be allowed to vote in the elections, having collected their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs).
The commissioner said that 256, 488 uncollected PVCs were packaged according to local governments and returned to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), for safekeeping, in the presence of political parties, security agencies, international observers and journalists.
Attahiru-Madami said that batching of the materials into the Registration Areas had since commenced in the various local government area offices.
He said the Smart Card Readers had been appropriately reconfigured and delivered with backup batteries and charging materials.
The REC said activities at the Registration Area Centres (RACs) commenced from 9:00 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 22, adding that refresher training of the ad-hoc staff would be carried out on the same day.
“The re-visited list of ad hoc staff has also been delivered and pasted at our respective Area Offices. This is to allow prospective ad hoc staff to cross check the details of their records and proceed to immediately submit their account details to their supervisors,” he added.
The REC added that he had directed that the Registration Area Centres must be properly activated with all the required facilities put in place to make ad hoc staff comfortable.
He warned that any ad hoc staff caught in any untoward activity would be made to face the music.
“As far as the Independent National Electoral Commission, Kwara State, is concerned, I can say we are good to go.
“INEC Kwara will conduct free, fair, transparent and credible elections, which will be accepted by all stakeholders and applauded by the International Community.
“All Political Parties will be given a level playing field and all votes must count because our Card Readers are 100 per cent functional and no one will be disenfranchised,” he said.
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