Hope James
The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu has assured Nigerians of INEC’s loyalty and commitment to a free, fair, and credible election.
He made this known via a circular on Wednesday, 16th November.
He wrote; “It is exactly 100 days today before polling units open at 8:30 am, on Saturday, 25th February 2023, for national elections(Presidential and National Assembly) and two weeks later on Saturday, 11th March 2023 for state elections(Governorship and state house of Assembly).
“Once again, another general election is upon us, the 7th since the restoration of democracy in Nigeria in 1999. Over the last 23 years, we have made steady progress in the twin areas of electoral reform and election administration. Although a lot of work still lies ahead, it is generally acknowledged that our elections are getting better and citizens’ confidence in the process is increasing.”
“As I have said repeatedly, the commission’s allegiance is to Nigeria. Our loyalty is to Nigerians who want free, fair, credible, and verifiable elections supported by technology, which guarantees transparent recitation and upload of polling unit results for citizens to view in real-time on Election Day. It is for these reasons that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System(BVAS) and the INEC Results Viewing Portal(IREV) were introduced. There is no going back on the deployment of BVAS and IREV for the 2023 General Election.”
He also assured the public that the commission will continue with regular engagements with political parties, civil society organizations, the media, and other critical stakeholders, stating that in a court of weeks, the commission will start bi-weekly media briefings followed by weekly media briefings as we get close to the Election date.
He called on all citizens to participate fully in all electoral activities.