The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured the over 1,478,460 cleared voters that their votes will count in the forthcoming election, boasting that the Ondo poll will be better than the standard it set in last month’s governorship election in Edo State.
The INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, also disclosed that the commission has distributed non-sensitive election materials to all the 18 Local Government Areas in Ondo State ahead of the election.
Prof Yakubu, who gave the assurance during INEC Stakeholders meeting in Akure ahead of the poll, noted that to ensure credible and transparent electoral process and maintain the standard set in Edo, the Commission will still deploy the z-pad technology to upload polling unit level results on a dedicated portal (INEC RESULT VIEWING – IReV).
He further disclosed that the Smart Card Readers destroyed during the recent fire incident in Akure have been replaced from the ones in Oyo State.
“Since the Commission released the timetable and schedule of activities for the Ondo State Governorship election eight months ago on 6th February 2020, we have engaged with political parties and their candidates in several meetings.
“We have also interacted with the security agencies at National and State level. We consulted with, and sought for the support and blessings of the Ondo State Council of Obas.
“We met with religious leaders, civil society organisations and the media. We conferred with the National Peace Committee under the leadership of our former Head of State, General Abdulsalami A. Abubakar, which has invited political parties and candidates to sign a Peace Accord here in Akure on Tuesday.
“Similarly, we have recruited, trained and screened all categories of ad hoc staff for the election. We have delivered non-sensitive materials to all the 18 Local Government Areas of Ondo State. We warned our officials (ad hoc and regular staff) to be professional and non-partisan in the discharge of their assigned responsibilities.
“Voter education and sensitisation is ongoing. We have made arrangements for the movement of personnel and materials to electoral locations in all 3,009 polling units and 203 electoral wards across the state. This afternoon, the Central Bank will deliver all sensitive materials for the election to its Akure branch,” he said
On the damaged Smart Card Reader, the Commission’s boss said: “In response to the unfortunate fire incident last month in which we lost all our Smart Card Readers in Ondo State, we have moved enough replacements from Oyo State and configured them for the election on Saturday.
We have made adequate arrangements with the Federal Fire Service to ensure that such incidents do not occur again.
“We have continued to work with security agencies under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to ensure a hitch-free and secure election on October 10.
“I wish to specifically thank all the agencies in ICCES, especially the lead agency, the Nigeria Police, for their continued support and professionalism as we prepare for the election. In short, the Commission is ready for the election. I have spent the last two days here in Ondo State evaluating our preparations and I am pleased with what I have seen.
“Our commitment is to ensure that the choice of who becomes the next governor of Ondo State is entirely in the hands of the voters. I wish to assure all eligible voters that every vote will count and only the choice made by the people of Ondo State will determine the outcome of the election. I assure the electorate that the Ondo election will be better than Edo State.
“I want to assure political parties and candidates that we will remain focused on our processes and procedures. Let me reiterate to all stakeholders that the Commission will not take any action to the advantage or disadvantage of any political party or candidate,” he said.
“The Commission has reviewed the last governorship election in Edo State. We are determined to continue improving on our performance. For this reason, we identified 16 areas of improvement, including logistics, prompt response to Smart Card Reader glitches on Election Day, the menace of vote buying during elections and compliance with COVID-19 protocols.
“In response, we have engaged with land and maritime transport owners for forward and reverse logistics to and from land and riverine locations.
“We have engaged additional 104 Registration Area Technical Support (RATECHS) staff to respond rapidly to issues with Card Readers on Election Day. We had useful discussions with the security agencies and anti-corruption agencies on how to deal with vote buying during elections.”
He added: “All eligible voters will have equal opportunity to exercise their right to vote. In order to ensure greater awareness and effective participation of all citizens in the electoral process, the Commission is deploying magnifying glasses and braille ballot guides to assist Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) to vote unaided.
“For this reason, the Commission has translated and published the policy on conducting elections in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the Voters’ Code of Conduct into braille. We have also produced posters to guide hearing-impaired voters .”
While assuring on the deployment of z-pad, he said: “To further underscore our commitment to a credible and transparent electoral process in Nigeria, the Commission introduced the z-pad to upload polling unit level results on a dedicated portal.
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