Ondo guber: Abdulsalami supervises signing of peace accord by parties, candidates

*’We are fully ready’, by INEC Chairman

*As sensitive materials arrive State Tuesday

By Folorunso Alagbede, Abuja

Ahead of the Saturday, November 16 governorship election in Ondo State, former Head of State and Chairman, National Peace Committee, NPC, General Abdusalami Abubakar, rtd, will today (Friday) preside over the signing of peace accord by the various parties and candidates participating in election.
This was confirmed on Thursday by the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu at the stakeholders’ meeting on the election held at the international culture and events’ centre, in Akure, the state capital.
The Peace Accord involving parties and candidates will be signed at 10.00am at the same venue.
In the words of the INEC Chairman, “I would like to remind you that tomorrow (today) Friday 8th November 2024, the Peace Accord involving parties and candidates will be signed at 10.00am at this venue.
“Our respected former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar will preside over the occasion in his capacity as the Chairman of the National Peace Committee.
“I invite you to honour the Peace Committee by your presence here tomorrow (today) and, most importantly, abide by the terms of the Accord for a peaceful election”, he said.
Prof Yakubu reassured all stakeholders that INEC is ready for the election, stressing that the commission will be
deploying the BVAS machines for voter accreditation at polling units and for the upload of results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
According to him, “Let me reassure stakeholders that INEC is ready for the election. We are deploying the BVAS machines for voter accreditation at polling units and for the upload of results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
“Only yesterday (Wednesday), we conducted mock accreditation in 12 polling units across six Local Government Areas in the three Senatorial Districts of the State.
“The purpose was to test-run our deployment of technology to safeguard the credibility of the election.
“I am glad to report that the mock was successful and the result can be viewed on the IReV portal. But let me also quickly add that the machines used for the mock accreditation and the training of officials will not be used on Election Day.
“We have sufficient machines for the election which have been configured for voter accreditation and the upload of result distinct from those used for mock accreditation and training”, he said.
While summarising what INEC have done so far to ensure the success of the 2024 Ondo State Governorship election holding next week Saturday, Prof Yakubu said, “We engaged several times with stakeholders at the national level and here in Ondo State.
“We have made every information about the election available to Nigerians. We have published the list of candidates, the number registered voters and the number of PVCs collected by polling units.
“We have made available the locations of voting and collation centres across the State.
“We have accredited observers and media organisations for the election. We have also accredited polling and collation agents and made the details public.
“On Tuesday this week, we visited many of our Local Government offices to assess their readiness for the election. We have test-run our election technology in preparation for the Election Day.
“We are deploying enough technical support staff to address any challenges that may occur.
“We have made arrangements for land and maritime transportation of personnel and materials.
“We have arranged for the delivery of sensitive materials for the election to arrive as early as Tuesday next week.
“We will invite political parties and other stakeholders for the usual inspection of the materials at the Central Bank here in Akure and throughout the movement of sensitive materials to the Local Governments and the Ward centres”, he assured.
The INEC Chairman recalled that throughout the movement of sensitive materials to the Local Governments and the Ward centres, the Commission had warned its staff that there will be consequences for dereliction of duty in any way or form.
Describing election as a multi-stakeholder activity, Yakubu pointed out that INEC has a role to play and “we have done so always in consultation with stakeholders. However, our role has to be complemented by all stakeholders”.
He urged Political parties to continue to restrain their supporters from any disruptive behaviour.
Continuing, he said, “We have produced accreditation tags for all your agents bearing their names, photographs and location of deployment. We have also added a QR code to the tags that can be read even from mobile phone applications.
“The practice of issuing party tags without name, photograph or location of posting to party agents must stop. That is how in some polling and collation locations, we have impersonators where two or more people claim to be agents of one Political Party, sometimes resulting in unnecessary disagreement among themselves or with agents of other parties leading to disruption of processes.
“I urge Political Parties to follow the example of other accredited observers and the media by using the tags issued by the Commission and displaying the same at all voting and collation locations”, he said.
In his opening remarks, the Ondo State Supervising National Commissioner, Prof Kunle Ajayi declared that the people of Ondo State, like all citizens, deserve an election that reflects their will, free from undue influence, violence, and malpractices.
According to Ajayi, “The stakes are high, as this election will not only determine the leadership of this vibrant state but also serve as a compass of our collective ability to conduct peaceful, free, fair, credible, inclusive and conclusive elections.
“INEC, under the leadership of the Hon. Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has been working tirelessly to prepare for this election, making great efforts in improving our logistics, training of personnel, voter education, and the deployment of updated technology to enhance the credibility and transparency of the process”, he said.