Election begins at 8am this Saturday — INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission has assured Nigerians and the international community that it has concluded arrangements to commence elections by 8 . a . m . on Saturday .

INEC Chairman , Prof . Mahmood Yakubu, gave the assurance on Friday in Abuja while addressing a press conference on the Commission ’ s preparations for the presidential and National Assembly elections .
Yakubu said that the commission has concluded the deployment of sensitive and non sensitive materials to the 774 local government areas across the country .
“ We engaged 825 , 543 ad hoc staff ranging from presiding officers to collation and returning officers.

“ We have mobilised 80, 000 commercial vehicles and about 996 boats for the deployment of personnel and materials .
“ The materials include 707 , 892 ballot boxes and voting cubicles , and we are mobilising these to various locations by land and sea .
“ We have accredited 120 domestic and 36 international observer groups , deploying accumulative number of 73, 000 observers.
“ We have concluded the movement of personnel , materials to the 774 local and 8809 RACs nationwide.

“ All arrangements are now in place to facilitate opening of polls at 8 a . m . on Saturday , ” he said.
He said that measures were also in place to combat vote buying and other electoral malpractice.
He said that the national situation room would open at 6 p. m . on Friday, while the national collation centre would also be opened at 6 p . m . on Sunday , both situated at the International Conference Centre ( ICC ) , Abuja .
The chairman advised eligible voters to visit gotomypu . ng to obtain location to their polling units, saying in the last 10 days about 190 , 000 persons had utilised the commission ’ s various social media platforms to geolacate their Polling Units .
He said that the election would be by simultaneous accreditation and voting system , and that only registered voters with Permanent Voter Cards would be allowed to vote .
“ As we go to poll tomorrow , I appeal to voters to be peaceful and orderly before, during and after the elections .

“ The police working with other security agencies have assured us of adequate security for voters , electoral officers, observers and the media .
“ May I also appeal to all to ensure compliance with the usual restriction of movement for those who are not observers or on essential dut, ” the chairman said.
Yakubu also urged members of the public to desist from issuing any results of the elections , saying only INEC was empowered by law to declare results .
“ The commission will work assiduously to ensure that collation and declaration of results are done at the various levels expeditiously .
On his part , the acting Inspector General of Police ( I -G ) , Mohammed Adamu, reiterated that maximum security would be provided before, during and after the election .
Adamu said that the security personnel at the polling units would not be armed and there would be no need for apprehension while the election is going on .
“ We have some group of people who might want to disrupt the election we have put in place strategy to stop that .

“ We have tactical units of our personnel and other services that will be patrolling everywhere to ensure that the process is not disrupted.
“ The patrolling personnel will be armed and will deal with anybody who wants to disrupt the process in the course of the election ,
“ If any electoral offence is committed, we will work with the INEC officials to apprehend the culprit and set up investigative team headed by Commissioner of Police in charge of legal Unit to investigate the cases and prosecute them .
“ Be it vote buying , ballot box snatching , be it thuggery , if you commit that , you will be arrested and prosecuted.

“ After the voting , movement of electoral materials to the collation centre will be protected . Armed security personnel will be posted to the ward collation centres .
“ Even when the results are announced , those people who are planning to disrupt the process, we have put strategies in place to prevent that , ” he said .
The I-G said what was required from all Nigerians was to go out peacefully , cast their vote and wait for the announcement of the results .
“ If you have no business on the election day if you are not an accredited official , please don ’ t come out .

“ All the accredited officials whether domestic or foreign observers must carry their tags . You can move freely and be protected .
“ If you identify anybody that wants to infiltrate you and claim to be an observer for a group , we will appreciate you exposing such a person for us to remove him or her from your group , ” Adamu said .
The national election will hold in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja . Voting will take place in 176 , 973 locations , made up of 119 , 973 polling units and 57 , 023 voting points .
The elections will be to elect a president from the 73 presidential candidates , 109 senators from 1 , 820 senatorial candidates and 360 House of Representatives members from the 4 , 631 candidates contesting in the election .

2019 ELECTION - INEC achieves 90% deployment

The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has deployed 90% of materials needed for this weekend’s election, high level sources in the commission told Vanguard yesterday.

Logistical challenges besides the reconfiguration of the card readers and alleged sabotage were last weekend blamed for the inability of the commission to conduct the election by Monday. It had been reported that several materials including sensitive and non-sensitive materials were either not deployed or wrongly deployed leading to the failure of the commission to conduct the election last Saturday as promised. The commission within the short period following the approval of its budget late last year had to print more than 500 million ballot papers and result sheets to be used for the series of elections this February and March. 

The he commission had the option of flying them to its five hubs spread across the country. However, as the chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu explained last weekend, inclement weather became a challenge. “Unfortunately, in the last one week, flights within the country have been adversely affected by bad weather. 

For instance, three days ago, we were unable to deliver materials to some locations due to bad weather. We therefore had to rely on slow-moving long haulage vehicles to locations that can be serviced by air in spite of the fact that we created five zonal airport hubs Abuja (North Central), Port Harcourt (South South and South East), Kano (North West), Maiduguri and Yale (North East) and Lagos (South West) to facilitate the delivery of electoral logistics”. 

However, that claim has been challenged by the minister of aviation Haid Sariki and some commentators who observed that weather did not stop President Muhammadu Buhari from flying to vote. It also did not cripple flights by commercial airlines. So, how has INEC been able to tackle this particular challenge, bearing in mind that Monday, February 18 2019 was the date INEC set for itself for the “completion, confirmation of deployment of electoral materials”? Both the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi and INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Oluwole Osaze-Uzi did not immediately respond to media inquiries. A top official of the commission however said there had been over 90 percent success rate of deployment as at 4pm on Monday.


Via Vanguardngr

EXCLUSIVE REPORT - INEC reschedules presidential, NASS elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission has announced the postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections earlier scheduled for today ( Saturday ) by one week .

Consequently, the commission has rescheduled the Presidential and National Assembly Elections to Saturday , February 23 , 2019 while the governorship , State Houses of Assembly and Federal Capital Territory Area Council polls earlier fixed for March 2 would now be conducted on Saturday , March 9 2019 .
The chairman of INEC, Prof . Mahmood Yakubu, who read a five -paragraph statement by 2 :50 am on Saturday , attributed the decision to logistic reasons , but refused to entertain any question.

He said , “ The Independent National Electoral Commission met on Friday, February 15, 2019 , and reviewed its preparations for the 2019 General Elections scheduled for Saturday , February 16 2019 and Saturday , March 2 2019 .
“ Following a careful review of the implementation of its logistics and operational plan and the determination to conduct free , fair and credible elections , the commission came to the conclusion that proceeding with the elections as scheduled is no longer feasible .

“ Consequently, the commission has decided to reschedule the Presidential and National Assembly Elections to Saturday , February 23 2019 . Furthermore, the Governorship , State House of Assembly and Federal Capital Territory ( FCT ) Area Council Elections is rescheduled to Saturday , March 9 2019 . This will afford the commission the opportunity to address identified challenges in order to maintain the quality of our elections .
“ This was a difficult decision for the commission to take, but necessary for the successful delivery of the elections and the consolidation of our democracy .

“ The commission will meet key stakeholders to update them on this development at 2 pm on Saturday 16 ( today) February 2019 at the Abuja International Conference Centre. ”

Via Punchng

Exclusive Reports - Fire guts INEC office in Plateau state

Mr Osaretin Imahiyereobo, Head, Voter Education and Publicity of the commission in the state, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Jos that the incident occurred on Saturday night.

It is true that our office in Quaanpan has been gutted by fire caused by the negligence of the a security man on duty who didnt know how to operate the generator but wanted to put it on.

The office is completely burnt to ashes with all the valuables in it destroyed.

Items such as ballot boxes, generators filled with fuel, cubicles, newly printed electronic and manual voters register, uncollected Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), materials for the preparations of RAC and other valuable materials were affected, he said.

He said the management team led by Alhaji Rasheed Gbadamasi, the Administrative Secretary of the commission in the state, were already on their way to the scene for assessments.

Via Pulseng

Exclusive Reports - INEC extends PVC collection till Monday

The Independent National Electoral Commission , on Friday, announced an extension of the window for the collection of the Permanent Voter Card till Monday .

INEC made the announcement on its Twitter handle , revealing that PVC collection scheduled to end on Friday ( today ) , would now extend over the weekend ( Saturday and Sunday ) till Monday when the process would end nationwide .
The statement on INEC’ s handle read , “ The collection of PVCs scheduled to end today Friday 8 th February 2019 is hereby extended nationwide to Monday 11th February 2019 . This will include Saturday and Sunday .

“ The collection of PVCs will now take place from 9 am to 6 pm daily. All State offices are hereby directed to review the procedure for the collection of PVCs and dedicate all the staff of the Local Government offices to the collection process.
“ Staff are enjoined to be civil in attending to citizens and to escalate issues that they cannot immediately resolve to their superiors .

“ The Commission wishes to reassure Nigerians that we will continue to take every necessary step to ensure that no registered voter is disenfranchised on account of non -collection of PVCs .

“ Similarly , the Commission is taking urgent steps to address complaints of unavailability of the PVCs of some registered voters before the end the deadline for the collection.
“ We wish to reiterate that after the deadline of Monday 11 th February 2019 , all uncollected PVCs will be recalled and deposited with the CBN for safe -keeping until after the general elections when the collection of cards and the continuous registration of voters will resume . ”


Via PUNCHNG

Report Updates - INEC uncovers new methods of vote-buying

The Independent National Electoral Commission on Monday said it had discovered new methods to be used by some politicians to buy votes in the forthcoming general elections .

Speaking at an interactive session with traditional rulers in Osun State, the INEC National Commissioner , Mr Festus Okoye , however , warned that any politicians caught buying votes or engaging in acts that could have negative effects on the elections would be punished.
Okoye , who was represented by the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner , Mr Segun Agbaje , said the commission had been informed that some people were inducing voters to release their PVCs or Voter Identification Numbers .
He said the intention behind the moves was to either stop the owners of the cards from voting or to attempt using the VIN to hack into the commission ’ s website and preload card readers ahead of the elections .

He said , “ We have introduced a partial ban on the use of mobile phones and other photographic devices by voters while in the voting cubicles . Also , we are introducing the rolling and flattening of ballot papers by voters before casting them into the ballot boxes .

“ However , new methods of vote -buying are being devised . We have received credible information that some partisan actors are now buying PVCs from voters or financially inducing them to collect the Voter Identification Numbers on their PVCs . In some instances , telephone numbers and details of bank accounts of voters have been collected . ”

He , however , assured the public that the commission would work with the security agents to deal with the violators of electoral laws .

Agbaje said anyone found guilty of buying votes would pay either a fine of N1 m or be sentenced to one year in prison, adding that multiple registration , impersonation and being in possession of more than one PVC would attract N1 m fine or a 12 -month jail term or both .
The Ooni of Ife , Oba Enitan Ogunwusi , urged royal fathers in the state to ensure that there was peace before and during the elections in their areas.

Via Punchng

ELECTION - INEC outline 7-step Voting Procedures

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has outlined a seven step voting procedure for next month’s general elections.

The procedure, which was posted on its website, lists the steps as follows and they are not substantially different from those used in recently conducted elections.

The steps as stated by INEC are:

Step 1:
Upon arrival at the polling unit, join the queue and present yourself to the INEC official (APO111) at the polling unit who will determine whether you are at the correct polling unit and check if the photograph on the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) matches your face. If satisfied, he/she will direct you to the next INEC official (APO1).

Step 2:
The official (APO1) will request for your PVC to confirm that your card is genuine and your details, using the smart card reader. He/she will ask you to place your finger on the card reader to confirm that the PVC belongs to you by ascertaining, the card reader will contains the name, photograph and finger prints of all those registered in their polling unit.

Step 3:
You will then meet the next official (APO11) who will request for your PVC to confirm that your name and details are in the voters register. Your name will be ticked and your PVC returned to you. He/ she will then apply indelible ink to the cuticle of your appropriate finger for that election to show you have been accredited to vote. (If your name is not found on the register, you will not be allowed to vote).

Step 4:
The presiding officer (PO) stamps, signs and endorses the date at the back of the Ballot Paper. The PO will roll the ballot paper inwardly with the printed side inwards and give to you. He /she will then direct you to the voting cubicle where you vote in secret.

Step 5:
You will stain your appropriate finger for the election with the ink provided then use your stained finger to mark the space or box provided on the ballot paper for your preferred candidate/party. Roll the marked ballot paper (in the manner the PO gave to
you).

Step 6:
Then leave the voting cubicle and drop the ballot paper in the ballot box in full view of people at the polling unit.

Step 7:
You will then leave the polling unit or wait if you so choose in an orderly and peaceful manner to work the process up to declaration of result.
N.B. The result of each polling unit shall be pasted at the unit and for everyone to see.

Via Vanguardngr

Checkout how Jegas INEC worked against me - Jonathan makes revelations in new book

- Jonathan says while INEC was able to distribute electional materials 100 percent in the north, for some inexplicable reasons, it could not achieve same feat in the south
- The former president reveals three reasons he decided to accept defeat and call President Buhari before the collation of the election ended
Nigeria’s former president, Goodluck Jonathan has alleged in a new book he released on Tuesday, November 20, that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conspired against his planned electoral victory in 2015.

Premium Times reports Jonathan as alleging that INEC was bias in the distribution of voting credentials to the electorate and that this was the beginning of his defeat at the March 28, 2015 general elections.

In the book, Jonathan wrote: “For some inexplicable reason, the INEC had been able to achieve near 100 percent distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in the north, including the north east, which was under siege with Boko Haram insurgency but failed to record a similar level of distribution in the south which was relatively more peaceful.”

The former president said he monitored reports of irregularities, but that he remained reluctant to ride on such excuses to reject the results.
“Social media was filled with all manner of stories, pictures and videos. I had settled in my mind that I was not going to be the sitting president pointing out these infractions and accusing the opposition and the very INEC I helped to strengthen.
“The world saw my ordeal at the polling unit in my community in Bayelsa State, where the card reader refused my PVC even after we tried repeatedly during accreditation.
“And it was the same with my wife and my mother. It was a moment that exposed the shortcomings of INEC,” Jonathan said adding that he conceded defeat for three reasons, one being his personal belief while the other was to avoid a past predictions of the United States intelligence that Nigeria would break apart. The third, according to him, was a statement credited to President Muhammadu Buhari that dogs and baboons would be
“soaked in blood” if 2015 elections did not go the way he desired.
“I knew what was coming the day before I called General Muhammadu Buhari. I had reports on the polls around the country. It was clear the results were not going to favour me.
“There were series of problems with card readers, resulting from widespread technical hitches leading to the non-uniform application throughout the country.
“However, I was heading towards peace. Stopping the election on voting day would have been like detonating an atomic bomb,” he said.
Furthermore, Jonathan said shortly after he finished voting on March 28, he left Bayelsa for Abuja to monitor the rest of the exercise adding that he was sure violence would have broken out in some areas if he did not place that call to Buhari.
“The country was tensed. I had to do something. I could no longer wait for the collation of final results. The pressure on the country was palpable.

Via LEGIT.ng

Exclusive: INEC partners Police to recover 2,045 stolen PVCs in Akwa-Ibom State

Uyo—The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said that it is partnering the Police to recover the 2,045 Permanent Voters Card (PVCs) stolen from its office in Okobo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

Vanguard recalls that the INEC office in Okobo was attacked last month by a  mob. INEC National Commissioner supervising Akwa Ibom, Delta and Cross River states, Dr. Mohammed Lecky, disclosed this yesterday at the state headquarters of the commission while briefing newsmen on the successful completion of the display of voters register.

Lecky assured that in the event that the stolen PVCs were not recovered on time, they would be reproduced  and made available to the rightful owners before the elections. He said: ”The PVCs were stolen in Okobo LGA. There were 2,045 PVCs. During the primaries, our office was attacked by hoodlums. We have visited the LGAs and have seen a lot of security lapses.“I think it was a mob action which was a consequence of the primary elections. I want to assure that the police are looking into the matter. The PVCs were stolen from where we kept them for safety.

“What the hoodlums have done is a nullity because we have a list of everybody. We have their names. We have their pin numbers and we have their pictures on the voters’ register.

It is a matter of reproducing the PVCs and making them available.“But still we have to go after those culprits and punish them according to the law.“We, therefore, implore the political parties to abide by INEC rules and regulations. It is not yet November 18 and we have a lot of billboards with campaign messages. This is not acceptable.”

via vanguardngr

Exclusive as INEC tells Nigerians what to do over Buhari’s certificate

The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, who addressed a press conference at the commission headquarters on Friday, stated that any doubt on the forms submitted by aspirants regarding their personal particulars including Buhari’s certificate can be challenged in court.

According to the INEC Chairman, anyone in doubt of forms submitted by the candidates regarding their personal particulars, can challenge it in court. He added that while the commission is making the particulars of the candidates known, the public is to seize the opportunity to view the personal details of the candidates that seek to represent them.“Any person with reasonable ground to believe that any information on form CF001 submitted by a candidate contains incorrect or false claims is at liberty to file an action against such candidate at the federal high court or the high court of a state or FCT,” he said.

“While the current exercise is limited to candidates for presidential and national assembly elections, the personal particulars of those contesting in governorship and state assemblies elections will be published on  November 9, 2018, one week after the close of submission of nominations by political parties.”“This is an opportunity for citizens to ascertain the personal details of the candidates to enable them take informed decisions on election day or even initiate legal action against candidates who they believe have made false claims on their forms,” he added.

The is coming after President Buhari’s certificate sparked controversy on social media. President Muhammadu Buhari had told the commission that his academic records are still with the military, sparking reactions, especially from critics of the government.

EXCLUSIVE: INEC has submitted details of adjusted N143bn 2019 election budget

The Independent National Electoral Commission has submitted its recommended adjustments to the 2019 election budget as requested by the National Assembly Joint Committee on INEC.

INEC submitted the fresh proposals to the committee via a written correspondence in Abuja , on Tuesday. Chairman of the joint committee , Suleiman Nazif , said this before the meeting went into a closed- door session which began at 2 : 18 pm and ended at about 3 : 34 pm.

After the meeting , Nazif told reporters that the joint committee has set up an ad - hoc committee made up of committee members to look at the details submitted by INEC and report back at 4 : 00 pm on Wednesday . The INEC made submissions based on the N 143 bn as requested by President Muhammadu Buhari . via Punchng

EXCLUSIVE: Polls Budget, Bukola Saraki hits executive, says it lacks foresight

The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Sunday berated the executive , alleging that its late submission of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s budget for the 2019 elections showed its lack of foresight.

Saraki , in a statement by his Special Adviser on New Media , Olu Onemola, berated the President Muhammadu Buhari Media Organisation for accusing him of slowing down the approval of the budget .

The group had accused Saraki of postponing the resumption of the Senate in spite of Buhari ’s submission of INEC’ s budget .
But Onemola in the statement said the National Assembly was committed to the approval of INEC ’s budget for the 2019 polls.
Saraki’ s aide said in spite of the failure of the executive to submit the budget on time, the committees of the National Assembly had been working to ensure that due process was followed in approving the request.

He stated , “By now , the Nigerian people are aware that the executive branch could have submitted INEC ’s 2019 elections budget at the time it submitted the 2018 appropriation proposals last year .
“The executive had from January till June this year to submit the budget request. However , due to a perceived lack of foresight , display of usual tardiness or an attempt to ensure that due process would not be followed , this request was submitted only a few days before the statutory National Assembly annual recess .

The aide said groups like the Buhari Media Organisation that had worked assiduously “ with conscientious ignorance as their guide to attempt to scapegoat the Senate President for the failure of the executive to submit INEC’ s 2019 election budget on time .
“ More importantly, the Electoral Act passed by the National Assembly to help legalise the various innovations that needed for free and fair elections is still absent because President Muhammadu Buhari chose to withhold his assent the first time it was transmitted .

“The question the Buhari Media Organisation should ask their principal is: “ What is he afraid of in the very progressive proposals contained in the Electoral Bill ? Why does he want to frustrate the 2019 elections by denying the nation the much- needed enabling law ?”
He recalled that INEC had stated that it was confident and comfortable with the thorough and transparent response by the National Assembly .

The executive is not to blame – Minister’ s aide
But in his reaction on Sunday , the Media Adviser to the Minister of Budget and National Planning , Mr Akpandem James, said it was not true that the INEC budget was received and kept by the executive.

via punch news

UPDATE - Polls: INEC to feed policemen with N6bn

Feeding of policemen during the 2019 polls will gulp N6 bn.

This is contained in the budget for the polls presented to the House of Representatives by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Lawmakers have raised eyebrows over the figure and are asking the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, to defend it.

The budget defence is ongoing at the National Assembly .

INEC extends voter registration to weekends

In an effort to accommodate the anticipated upsurge of citizens for the last days of the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved the extension of the CVR exercise to weekends starting from August 1.

The decision was contained in a press statement signed and issued by a Member of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC) and National Commissioner, Mohammed K. Haruna.

According to the statement, the exercise will as from August 1st, 2018, be conducted for the 7 (seven) days in the week, including Saturdays and Sundays until August 17th 2018 when the exercise will be suspended until after 2019 general elections.

In addition, the Commission also extended the hours for the exercise from 9.00am – 3.00pm daily to 9.00am – 5.00pm daily, to ensure eligible citizens who wish to register, get registered ahead of the 2019 general elections.

The statement read in part: “the CVR exercise will take place between 9am and 5pm (instead of 9am -3pm as obtained presently). There will also be Registration on Saaturdays and Sundays as well as public holidays (if any) within the period.
It continued: “The exercise will be suspended at 5pm on Friday 17th August until after the 2019 general elections.

via Blueprintnigeria