Anambra Election: Ensure every vote counts - Yakubu tells INEC staff

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, has urged all field staff of the body to be transparent in their dealings and ensure that every vote counts in Saturday’s governorship election in Anambra State.

This is just as he warned that attention will be on the commission as Nigerians expect them to consolidate on recent successes and past gains.

Yakubu, who gave the statement on the eve of the election, insisted that after several months of preparations, the election will hold despite the earlier security challenges experienced in the build-up to the exercise.

“Our determination to ensure that the election holds as scheduled has been unshaken. In the process, we rebuilt our fixed assets and replaced movable facilities.

“We also sought and obtained the support of the security agencies, political parties and candidates and all other stakeholders for a successful exercise.

“Over the next few days, all eyes will be on us. As you are aware, Nigerians expect the Anambra Governorship election to be an improvement on the high standards achieved in recent elections,” Yakubu said.

The INEC boss also disclosed that this was the reason that the commission introduced the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for fingerprint and facial biometric authentication of voters and that the staff have been trained on the new technology.

“We have also delivered all sensitive and non-sensitive materials for the election on schedule, deployed election duty staff and made logistics arrangements to move personnel and materials to thousands of locations in Anambra State where voting and collation of results will take place.

“It is therefore imperative for all of you to ensure that every single vote counts. You must remain true to our commitment that only the voters in Anambra State determine who becomes the next Governor of the State. In doing so, you must be guided by the extant laws, our guidelines/regulations and good conscience. You should remain vigilant, principled and committed to the vision and mission of the commission,” he said.