The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed determination to conduct a free, fair and credible governorship election in Edo State on September 21, 2024.
The INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu made this commitment in Benin City, the Edo State capital, after assessing the level of readiness by staff of the commission ahead of the polls.
Yakubu declared that INEC was not a political party and did not have a candidate in the election, saying the responsibility of choosing the next governor of the state rested entirely in the hands of Edo voters.
He urged all registered voters in the state to come out en masse to vote for the party and candidate of their choice, adding that the commission would always protect the integrity of the process and uphold the choice made by the electorate.
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Yakubu, who visited three local governments – Oredo, Egor and Ikpeoba Okha- expressed satisfaction with all the levels of preparation at the INEC offices as well as the two centres visited for the mock accreditation exercise, said the commission was good to go.
“My assurance to everyone in Edo State is, on the part of the commission, we keep saying this. INEC is not a political party therefore we don’t have a candidate in this election.
“The responsibility of choosing the next governor of Edo state is entirely in the hands of Edo voters and our assurance to all the registered voters in Edo state is to troup out to vote for the party of their choice and the candidate if their choice and the commission will always protect the integrity of the process and uphold the choice made by the electorate.
“We are satisfied with all the level of preparation of our local government offices in the three offices we have visited- Oredo, Egor and Ikpeoba Okha- as well as the two centres we have visited for the mock exercise. I think we are good to go,” he said.
The INEC chairman, however, acknowledged little logistic issues that needed to be addressed and explained that his meeting with the Electoral Officers in the 18 local government areas of the state was aimed at harvesting the issues with a view to tackling them.
He said: “There are little, little issues that we are going to address, like some of the non sensitive materials but with 11 days to the election, I’m absolutely certain that by the end of this week, we will address those issues.
“But in addition, I’m also going to speak with all the EOs in the 18 local governments, not just the local government we visited and this is going to happen on Thursday after the signing of the national peace accord.
“So I’m going to speak with all the EOs and we will harvest all the concerns. That’s why we are here ahead of the elections, so that we can respond to any issues that they may raise.
“It has always been the intention of the commission to organise good elections and I’m giving you assurances on the level of preparation. That is why I’m personally here in Edo state and let me seize this opportunity to appeal to other stakeholders as well.
“Election is a multi stakeholder activity including the security agencies, the political parties, the candidates, the observers, even you the media, so you should report us very well.”