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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would conduct supplementary elections in 14 states this Saturday, where elections were disrupted in the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections. This will involve seven senatorial districts and 24 federal constituencies.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who disclosed this yesterday at the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) meeting, said the elections would be conducted together with the governorship, House of Assembly and Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, this weekend.
“Elections in the affected areas were disrupted mainly by acts of violence involving ballot box snatching, abduction of INEC officials, over voting and the failure to adhere to regulations and guidelines,” Yakubu stated.
This is just as the acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Tanko Mohammed, said police were ready for would be troublemakers during the elections. The INEC chairman, who spoke before the meeting went into closed-door section, said the commission has effectively tackled the challenge of logistics involved in the elections. “Materials for the election have been delivered to all states and the FCT.
“Movement to the local government areas will be completed today (yesterday). By tomorrow (today), all materials and relevant personnel will arrive at the Registration Area Centres (RACs). With this arrangement, we are confident that all polling units will open at 8a.m. nationwide,” he added.
Yakubu decried the attack on INEC staff during the Presidential and National Assembly elections, and expressed happiness that the police have made several arrests.
He assured Nigerians that the commission would work closely with the police to ensure the diligent prosecution of all violators of the electoral laws. The INEC chairman further called for cooperation of the security agencies, and expressed confident that lessons learnt from the Presidential and National Assembly elections would help to effectively secure the environment for the elections this weekend.
“The commission is concerned that many of our materials, including ballot boxes, voting cubicles, voters’ registers and smart card readers were lost to acts of hooliganism and thuggery in the elections held two weeks ago.
“Most worrisome is the attack on electoral officials. Some of our staff were abducted and taken hostage in an attempt to disrupt elections or influence the outcome. “In fact, some of the supplementary elections I referred to earlier were caused by such acts of thuggery. “I am confident that working together with the security agencies, we will consolidate on the largely peaceful conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly elections while also taking decisive steps to deal with the minority of violators intent on disrupting the conduct of peaceful elections.
“However, the commission will not tolerate the act of holding our officials hostage and forcing them to declare winners under duress. Where such occurs, the commission will not reward bad behaviour by issuing them certificates of return,” Yakubu further warned. He said the commission has, again, reconfigured the Smart Card Readers for the elections on Saturday, stating that the use of the card readers is mandatory for accreditation of voters.
He added that deliberate failure to deploy the card reader, especially where it occurred in connivance with communities, could lead to cancellation of the result of election in the polling unit(s) and zero vote recorded.
The IGP said the police had studied what happened in the February 23 elections and were ready for those who might disrupt this weekend’s elections. He stated that the security arrangement provided in the last elections was still in place, assuring that there would be improvement and enhancement.
Mohammed assured the commission of adequate protection of its staff and materials, during the elections. The National Security Adviser, Maj-Gen. Babagana Mungonu (rtd), who was represented by Salisu Galadima, expressed the hope that the conduct of the coming elections would be successful.