The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has banned all categories of its staff found to be negligent during the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections from participating in the March 11 governorship and state assembly elections.
The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this yesterday in Abuja at a meeting with the commission’s resident electoral commissioners (RECs).
“As we approach the governorship and state assembly elections, we must work harder to overcome the challenges experienced in the last elections. Nothing else will be acceptable to Nigerians.
“All staff found to be negligent, whether they are regular or ad hoc officials, including collation and returning officers, must not be involved in the forthcoming elections.
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“RECs must also immediately initiate disciplinary action where prima facie evidence of wrongdoing has been established,” Yakubu said.
Yakubu said he appreciated the sacrifice and doggedness of Nigerians and the dignity and maturity displayed by political leaders, even in the context of divergent views about the election.
He said a lot of lessons had been learnt, and that of immediate concern to the commission is how the identified challenges can be addressed as the country approaches the concluding phase of the general elections involving the largest number of constituencies, being 28 state governorship election and 993 state houses of assembly seats.
The INEC boss insisted that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) would once again be deployed for voter accreditation and result management.
“The deployment of BVAS has gone a long way to sanitise voter accreditation as can be seen from the result of recent elections. Since last week, the commission has intensified the review of the technology to ensure that glitches experienced, particularly with the upload of results, are rectified.
“We are confident that going forward, the system will run optimally,” Yakubu said.
He said the commission appreciated the patience and understanding of Nigerians, and that it did not take this for granted.
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Meanwhile, winners have been declared for 423 national legislative seats while supplementary elections will be held in 46 constituencies.
According to INEC boss, in the Senate, 98 out of 109 seats have been declared, with seven political parties winning senatorial seats, while in the House of Representatives, 325 out of 360 seats have been won by eight political parties.
He noted that in terms of party representation, this is the most diverse National Assembly since 1999.
He said that in the Senate, APC has 57, APGA 1, LP 6, NNPP 2, PDP 29, SDP 2, YPP 1; while in the House of Representatives, ADC 2, APC 162, APGA 4, LP 34, NNPP 18, PDP 102, SDP 2 and YPP 1.
He also said, “Certificates of return will be presented to senators-elect on March 7 while the reps-elect will get theirs on March 8.
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