By Stanley Onyekwere
The Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has described the Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as a leading light in Nigeria, given its regular and well conducted Area Council elections.
Yakubu made this assertion when he addressed a recent expanded FCT Security Committee meeting, in Abuja, said the Commission was happy with the behaviour of political parties and candidates in the FCT.
He said: “The Commission is happy with the behaviour of parties and candidates in the FCT. So far, there are no adverse reports of clashes between supporters of different parties and not many incidents of hate speech.
“I commend the stakeholders for their advocacy for peaceful elections and I appeal to political parties and candidates to continue to show maturity and decorum”.
Speaking on Area Council election which will hold on this Saturday, February 12, the INEC Chairman disclosed that the Commission had made adequate preparations for the smooth conduct of the exercise.
He added that major activities have been concluded. Right now, the Commission is only putting finishing touches to our preparations. Continuous Voter Registration was conducted over a period of 6 months and Permanent Voters Cards have been printed and made available for collection.
He also revealed that there are enough ad hoc staff, who have been engaged and trained and non-sensitive materials have been deployed to the various Area Councils.
He also revealed that transport arrangements have been made, including motorcycles and boats for where they will be needed and meetings have been held with the security agencies at all levels on how to address potential threats and secure the process.
He further disclosed that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) have been configured and ready to deploy and that election results will be uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) in real time.
The INEC Chairman also commended the FCT Judiciary especially the FCT High Court for standing firm to the antics of forum shoppers and litigation happy individuals who often waste the Commission and court’s time by litigating even the most improbable cases.
Recall that the meeting which was Chaired by the FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Musa Bello and had in attendance religious and traditional rulers, FCT elected officials, heads of the various military and paramilitary organisations and heads of the relevant Secretariats, Departments and Agencies of the FCTA.
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