Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu expressed satisfaction with the mock accreditation in Benin on Tuesday, confirming INEC’s readiness to conduct a free, fair, and credible election in Edo State come September 21, 2024.
During an on-site assessment visit to the three Local Government Areas where the mock accreditation took place on Tuesday, the INEC chairman assured the public that everything would be done in a fair manner.
The mock accreditation took place at Egor, Ikpoba Okha and Oredo local government areas of the state.
Yakubu informed journalists after the exercise in Benin that the commission was fully prepared for the September 21 governorship election, and there was no reason for the electorate to worry.
He said, “This is our readiness assessment visit to Edo State and the purpose is to reach some three local government areas to assess our readiness in terms of preparations and materials received so far as well as how we are organising the election in the next 11 days. We have also visited two centres to observe the mock accreditation exercise.
“We intended to test-run the integrity of our systems ahead of the election and those for voter registration as well as the upload of the results to the IreV portal.
“So, we have observed, and so far so good, in terms of the readiness of our Local Government offices for the election and also the technology that we are deploying for the election, everything is in perfect condition.”
The INEC chairman asserted that the commission under his watch had done its best and recommended that the electorate should come out in large numbers to elect the candidates of their choice on election day.
“INEC is not a political party, therefore, we don’t have a candidate in this election. The responsibility of choosing the governor of Edo State is entirely in the hands of Edo voters and our call on all the registered voters in the state is to troop out to vote for the party of their choice and the candidates of their choice. The commission will always protect the integrity of the person and uphold the choice made by the electorate,” Yakubu said.
He urged stakeholders, including security agencies, to collaborate with INEC to make sure that the poll in the state is successful.
He added, “Let me use this opportunity to appeal to other stakeholders, including the security agencies, the political parties, the candidates, the observers and the media to contribute to the successful conduct of the poll.
“We have enough backup. For instance, all the machines used for the mock accreditation in 12 polling units across three senatorial districts in Edo State will not be used for the election.
“This is an off-cycle election; we have enough systems to go around. So, I want to assure you that the integrity of the process is protected.”
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