The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, and the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, on Tuesday assured all stakeholders that necessary arrangements had been put in place to ensure transparency and security in the Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State.
While Yakubu reassured the people of the state that the decision of who would become the next governor would be that of the electorate through their votes, Baba said necessary security deployment had been made so that people could cast their votes without fear of molestation.
The INEC chairman and the police chief spoke in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, during a stakeholders’ meeting ahead of the election.
The INEC boss said, “Let me assure political parties and voters that the task of electing a new governor will be left in the hands of voters.
“We won’t take any action to the advantage or disadvantage of any particular party or candidate. We are going to do everything according to the 1999 Constitution and provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.”
Yakubu stated that four INEC national commissioners and eight Resident Electoral Commissioners had been deployed to ensure the conduct of credible election, adding 76 per cent of the 988,923 registered voters in the state had collected their Permanent Voter Cards as at Monday; saying they still had the opportunity to obtain the PVCs till Thursday.
Baba, who assured residents of adequate security before and after the election, disclosed that different security agencies, including the military, had deployed personnel for the election, not to intimidate law-abiding citizens, but to ensure a hitch-free exercise.
The IG, who said the 177 wards and 2,445 polling units would be manned by appropriate manpower, stated, “Those who want to constitute clog in the wheel of progress will face the consequences of their actions. National security should be of priority and uppermost in our minds. Let us conduct this election in the most civil manner.”
The Punch
