By Editor
National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu has described the incessant attacks on the commission's facilities as 'unfortunate'.
Mahmood, who disclosed that the commission is relying on security agencies to secure the forthcoming general elections, said everyone should be bothered about the needless attacks.
Speaking during an induction retreat for INEC's administrative Secretaries in Lagos yesterday, the INEC National Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who was represented by its National Commissioner, Sam Olumekun while fielding questions from newsmen lamented over the attack of INEC facility in Izzi Local Government Area Office, located in Iboko, Ebonyi State, by suspected arsonists.
Mahmood put the number of INEC offices attacked by hoodlums at 50 said the attacks were recorded in 21 states.
He said: "Everyone should be bothered about needless attacks on our facilities. It is unfortunate that we woke-up yesterday and another of our facilities had been attacked but we had assurances from the security agencies that they would secure the elections so we rely on that".
Mahmood further tasked the administrative Secretaries of the Commission to thoroughly familiarise themselves with the election technologies introduced for credible elections. He said "The combination of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System ,BVAS, and the INEC Result Viewing, IReV, portal have come to stay as a means of voter accreditation and transmission of election results.
"Over the last two years, the Commission has increased the deployment of technology in elections in Nigeria. Systems and portals have been designed and portals have been designed and developed to cater for different electoral activities ranging from voter registration and accreditation, result transmission from the polling units, the nomination of candidates by political parties to the accreditation of polling agents, observers, etc., for elections.
"Of these innovations, most Nigerians are now familiar with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) which doubles as a device for accreditation as well as upload of the Polling Unit level result sheets to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal on election day.
"The combination of the BVAS and the IReV portal have come to stay as a means of voter accreditation and transmission of election results. I urge you to thoroughly familiarize yourselves with the election technologies of INEC.
"Let me repeat once again that the Commission's allegiance is to Nigeria. Our loyalty is to Nigerians who want free, fair, credible and verifiable elections. It is in this respect that I want to warn all staff of the Commission to be neutral and professional in their conduct during the fourth coming election".
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