The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu has charged staff of the Federal Capital Territory INEC, to be mindful of their actions so the Federal Capital area council election can be used as affirmation that INEC is committed to ensuring free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.
The Chairman who gave the charge when he visited the FCT INEC office, to get a first hand information about the level of their preparedness towards the FCT Area council election holding on twelfth February, said, the headquarters has done all it is supposed to do for the success of the election which will produce six council chairman and sixty two Councillors
He reminded them that INEC has set the standard for conducting credible elections in Nigeria and the FCT area council election will not lower the bar hence the need to assure the electorates of their readiness to ensure an enhanced conduct of credible elections in the area council election.
Professor Yakubu said they will deploy the Biomodal Voter Accreditation System for the election adding that the configuration of the BVAS to polling units will be concluded on Friday this week, promising that as usual, they will upload the results in real time from the polling units of the four hundred and seventy five candidates nominated by seventeen political parties contesting for the sixty eight positions.
Earlier, the Resident National Electoral Commissioner, REC, for Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Alhaji Yahaya Bello promised that they would be dedicated to ensuring the election is free, fair, transparent and inclusive of all in the Area Council.
The REC said his office had met with various stakeholders including political parties, traditional and religious leaders as well as the Media to inform them about the series of activities which had been and are still being conducted.
Alhaji Bello, counted Party Primaries, Publication of List of Candidates, CVR Exercise which has been suspended and ongoing collection of PVCs as some of the concluded and ongoing activities.
He however lamented that about two hundred and sixty five thousand, eight hundred sixty eight PVCs have not been collected days to the election.