The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has cautioned it’s officials against being partisan in Saturday’s governorship election in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa state, News About Nigeria reports.
INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, in a message sent to staff of the Commission on Thursday night, said the commission is not a political party, so they must not support any candidate in the election.
He also charged the officials to be professional as they carryout their duties, noting, that their primary assignment is to deliver a free, fair and credible election.
According to him, it is only the people of Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi that can decide who will be their governors.
The message partly reads, “As we approach Election Day, I wish to call on our officials (both regular and ad-hoc) to demonstrate the highest level of patriotism and professionalism. As I said repeatedly, not least during my recent readiness assessment visits to the three States, INEC is not a political party and we have no candidate in the election.”
The INEC chairman further noted that about 5,169,692 Nigerians who have collected their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) are expected to vote in the off-cycle governorship elections.
He further disclosed that all sensitive and non-sensitive materials that would be used for the elections have been delivered to Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa respectively.
According to Mahmood, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) have also been configured for deployment to Polling Units as it would be the only means of verifying voters.
He assured that the Commission, together with security agencies, will ensure that the election in these states are free, fair and credible.
The INEC chairman also called on candidates who have signed the peace accord under the National Peace Committee (NPC) to maintain peace and also ensure that their supporters do so.
