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Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has learnt a lot of lessons from the recently conducted Edo governorship election and other previous polls, promising improvements during the forthcoming Ondo poll.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, stated this on Monday while addressing journalists upon his arrival in Akure, the state capital, to assess preparations of the commission for the November 16 gubernatorial election.
Yakubu, who identified major problems of early opening of the polling units and collation of results as challenges for the commission, explained that INEC was ready to improve.
He said, “We have learnt a lot of lessons not only from the last election but also previous elections. Basically, there are two challenges. The first one is logistics for election, so polling units open promptly on election day.
“The second one is result management, and my assurance to voters in Ondo State is that they are going to see fast improvement in these two processes.”
Yakubu, therefore, assured the people of Ondo State of early arrival of election materials, adding that the results would be adequately managed.
INEC chairman further explained that he came to the state to see things for himself and to meet with stakeholders with a view to having a peaceful, free, fair and credible election.
He said he would witness the mock accreditation of voters in the 6 selected polling units, two in each senatorial district, slated for Wednesday.
Yakubu added, “We have received positive reports from our state office in Akure, but we decided also to come for readiness assessment. So, we are here basically to look at what is happening, the good work that the state office has done, we are going to meet with the stakeholders including political parties, civil society organisations, the media, security agencies and we are also going to meet with our staff to assess our readiness. We will be here for a few days.
“One of the activities we are also going to observe is the mock accreditation of voters, which will take place in polling units across six local government areas in the three senatorial zones of the state.
“In addition to other activities, we are also going to meet with the stakeholders on Thursday, and the following day, the National Peace Committee will also invite all the stakeholders for the signing of the National Peace Accord.”
