The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has doused tension over the conduct of the 2023 general elections.
Yakubu said contrary to reports, the election will be held as scheduled.
It would be recalled that INEC had set 25 February 2023 date for the presidential poll
Any report to the contrary is not the position of the commission.
Yakubu who addressed leaders of political parties in Abuja on Wednesday said there would be no adjustment to the election time table.
He said the security agencies were also doing their job to ensure adequate security for eligible voters.
Yakubu said, “The Commission is not contemplating any adjustment to the election timetable, let alone the postponement of the General Election. For the avoidance of doubt, the Presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on Saturday 25th February 2023 while Governorship and State Assembly elections will hold two weeks later on Saturday 11th March 2023.
“The repeated assurance by the security agencies for the adequate protection of our personnel, materials and processes also reinforces our determination to proceed. The 2023 General Election will hold as scheduled. Any report to the contrary is not the official position of the Commission.”
He explained further that the Commission had deployed substantial quantities of sensitive and non-sensitive materials to various locations across the country.
“The last batch of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has been received while the ongoing configuration of the critical technology in readiness for elections will soon be completed. In the last two days, we commenced the airlifting of other sensitive materials to States across the country. “Already, some of the materials for 17 States in three geo-political zones have been delivered. Furthermore, 13,868,441 Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) have been printed, delivered to States and are being collected by citizens as new voters or by existing voters who applied for transfer or replacement of cards as provided by law. Similarly, following the display of the voters’ register nationwide and the conclusion of claims and objections by citizens, a new national register of voters has been compiled. In short, at no time in the recent history of the Commission has so much of the forward planning and implementation been accomplished 44 days ahead of a General Election,” he said.
