The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has said that electoral offenders would be dealt with according to the dictates of the provisions of the Electoral Act.
He was speaking yesterday at the National Election Collation Centre located at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja while addressing stakeholders.
President Muhammadu Buhari at a meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus in Abuja had said that ballot box snatchers should be ready to pay with their lives.
However, Yakubu said “The position of the commission is that all violators of the Electoral Act should be punished according to the provisions of the Electoral Act.”
Also, on the reported arrest of INEC officials by the SSS, Yakubu said, “No commissioner of INEC was picked by DSS. No commissioner’s house was raided. The commissioner they are talking about is now (Tuesday) in his office working at the commission’s headquarters.”
He also expressed what he called deep and sincere regrets as a commission for the postponement of the elections.
He said the commission took full responsibility and acknowledge the inconveniences and cost of the shift in dates to citizens, political parties and the community of election observers.
On the level of implementation so far achieved ahead of the Saturday’s election and subsequent ones, the INEC boss, said all issues relating to the delivery of the materials were identified and virtually addressed.
“Ballot papers, result sheets and a host of non-sensitive materials are now in location across the 36 States of the federation and the FCT. Our state offices commenced the process of inviting stakeholders to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to examine the retrieved materials deployed last week and to witness the batching of materials according to Local Government Areas (LGAs).
“The movement of materials to LGAs for batching according towards and polling units shall take place on Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st February 2019. All Registration Area Centres (RACs) are to be activated by 9.00am on Friday 22nd February 2019,” he added.
While saying that personnel and materials should be at the RACs by mid-day on Friday 22nd February 2019, he said refresher training for ad hoc personnel should take place at the RACs on Friday 22nd February 2019.
