.. Uncovers plans to buy vote
The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC), Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, said that the commission was not under pressure to do what was wrong.
The News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) reports that Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, had on Sunday, expressed doubt about INEC’s integrity to conduct free, fair and credible elections.
Yakubu made the clarification at a meeting with the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and other senior police officers on Monday in Abuja.
“This is to be expected in an election year when people make all sorts of insinuations.
“I want to tell you that we as a commission have never been under any pressure to do what is wrong.
“We will never compromise our integrity to do what the law says that we shouldn’t and for the 2019 general elections, I want to assure and reassure Nigerians that votes and nothing but votes will count.
“WIth this level of cooperation from the security agencies, I want to assure you that Nigerians will have a pleasant voting experience in 2019,” he said.
He said that the nation was looking forward to INEC and the Nigeria Police Force to conduct credible elections.
Yakubu said that the media would be provided unimpeded access to the commission during the elections.
He called for a close working relationship between the commission and the police at all levels.
He urged the police personnel to be on ground early enough to escort officials of the commission to polling units.
Earlier, the Acting IGP said that the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (FCIID), has been directed to set up a special lectionaries investigation teams.
He said that the teams would take into custody and undertake detailed investigation of all arrested electoral offenders across the country.
Adamu said the teams shall liase with INEC towards the prompt processing of the case files of the offenders for prosecution.
He said that the police would respect and protect the rights of all citizens of the country regardless of their socio-economic status.
Meanwhile, Yakubu, told a delegation European Union (EU) Observation Team, led by Chief Observer, Mrs Maria Arena, on a visit to INEC on Monday, in Abuja, that the Commission has uncovered plans to buy votes.
The chairman explained that political actors planned to use food vendors “around polling units with large voter populations as collection points for cash-for-votes as well as other forms of material inducement to voters on election day’’.
Yakubu said that in INEC’s determination to improve elections and ensure that votes counted, the commission had taken steps to address the disturbing trend of vote-buying by politicians.
He said that the steps included modification of the administration of polling units to make it difficult for voters to expose their marked ballot papers on day of election.
He said that the commission had also introduced partial ban on the use of mobile phones and other electronic devices by voters while in the voting cubicles.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Arena, had said that EU would deploy 40 observers to all states of the federation during the elections.
Arena added that the EU would also have its Parliamentary observation mission on ground during the exercise.
“We will issue two preliminary reports after the elections. We will work strongly with all the stakeholders of this country.
“We will also have the final reports two months after the elections, with recommendations.
“We really appreciate the work that INEC has done with the previous recommendations after the 2015 elections,” Arena said.
NAN
