Edo Decides: INEC is Neutral, Says Yakubu, Vows to Safeguard the Integrity of Voters’ Choice

With the September 21 governorship election in Edo State just around the corner, Nigeria’s election umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has promised the electorate that it would protect the integrity of the process and uphold their choice at the poll.

Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who made this pledge on Tuesday in Benin, during an assessment visit to Edo State to ascertain the level of preparedness, and observed the mock accreditation for the election, declared that the body was not a political party and so, had no candidate in the election. He therefore encouraged registered voters to come out and cast their votes for the party and candidate of their choice.

According to Prof. Yakubu, “INEC is not a political party and therefore doesn’t have a candidate in this election. The responsibility of choosing the next Edo State governor is entirely in the hands of Edo voters. Our assurance to all registered voters is to come out to vote for the party and the candidate of their choice. INEC will protect the integrity of the process and uphold the choice made by the electorate”.

He said the commission had visited three local government areas to assess their readiness in terms of level of preparation, the materials received so far, and how they were organising the election in the next 11 days.

Prof. Yakubu said “We have visited two centres to observe a mock accreditation exercise intended to test-run the integrity of our systems ahead of the election, both for voter accreditation, as well as uploading of the results to INEC portal”, adding, the commission was satisfied with the level of preparation at the three local government area offices visited, namely, Oredo, Egor, and Ikpoba-Okha, as well as the two centres of the mock exercise.

Assuring that the commission had back-up machines for the election in case of faulty machines, the INEC boss stated that the machines used for the mock accreditation in 12 polling units across three senatorial districts in Edo State will not be used for the election.

“Also, the BVAS (Bimodal Voter Accreditation System) to be used for the election are different from the mock exercise. Similarly, the BVAS that are going to be used for training officials will not be deployed for the election. For this off-cycle election, we have enough systems to go round. I want to assure you that the integrity of the system is protected,” Prof. Yakubu disclosed.

The chairman was accompanied by the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, (REC) Dr. Anugbum Onuoha; Prof. Rhoda Gamus, the National INEC Commissioner supervising Edo, Delta, and Bayelsa States; and Emmanuel Ogbodu, Administrative Secretary, INEC, Edo State, among others.

Meanwhile, according to Pro. Yakubu’s itinerary made available to journalists by INEC when he arrived Edo State on Monday, he is expected to meet with stakeholders for the election on Wednesday before proceeding to the palace of the Benin monarch for a courtesy call on Oba Ewuare 11.

The high point of Professor Yakubu’s engagements while in the state would be the signing of peace accord on Thursday by political parties and governorship candidates ahead of the September 21 poll.