INEC TO DEPLOY 753 PERSONNEL FOR ETCHE STATE AND FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY ELECTIONS

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is to deploy 753 Election Day personnel to conclude the Saturday, 25th February Etche II State Constituency and Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency elections in Rivers State.

The areas affected in the Etche State and Federal Constituency elections are: One (1) Local Government; Eighteen (18) Registration Areas, 147 Polling Units, 163 Voting Points, and 60, 874 Registered Voters.

THERE IS NO EXTERNAL INFLUENCE ON INEC BY PROFESSOR YAKUBU

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has assured Nigerians that the Commissions independence has not and will not be compromised by any external forces under any circumstance.

He said: “There is no influence on INEC, and there will never be any influence on INEC. The best marker for INEC is the elections that we have conducted and the outcome of those elections”.

The INEC Chairman gave the assurance Yesterday, while responding to questions from members of the INEC Press Corps during the opening ceremony of a two-two day Capacity Development Workshop at Rockview Hotel Royale, Abuja.

“I have never been approached by anybody to do anything in any way other than what is appropriate. I am not under any external pressure, neither are the members of the Commission,” he declared.

BREAKING: INEC Postpone Ondo Governorship Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reportedly postponed the Ondo state Governorship Election slated for Sarturday 26th November 2016.

If this postponment is comfirmed to be true, then it negate the earlier INEC satement that Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has no plan to postpone the conduct of the Ondo governorship election scheduled for Saturday, 26th November 2016.

KOGI, IMO RE-RUN ELECTIONS TO HOLD ON 23RD JULY; RIVERS, KANO STATES TO HOLD ON 30TH JULY 2016 SAYS INEC

Following a National Stakeholders’ Forum on the conclusion of the suspended re-run elections in Rivers, Kogi, Imo and Kano States, at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled the conduct of the outstanding re-run elections as follows:

Kogi and Imo States to hold 23rd July 2016 while Rivers and Kano States are to hold on 30th July 2016.

Esrlier yesterday, welcoming the stakeholders in her address, the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Electoral Operations Committee, Hajiya Amina Bala Zakari said the major Stakeholders in the Electoral Process to this forum called specifically to discuss the conclusion of the suspended re-run legislative elections in Rivers, Imo and Kogi States as well as the by election in Kano.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICERS MUST REVERSE STAKEHOLDERS’ TENDENCY FOR MISCONSTRUING INEC’s PROCESSES AND LAWS – INEC CHAIRMAN

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Yakubu Mahmood, has urged Heads of Publicity Units and Voter Education of the Commission to ensure they are proactive and reverse the growing tendency for stakeholders to misconstrue the Commission’s processes and laws.

He said: “To our discomfort, and in spite of the fact that our laws provide for inconclusive elections - and indeed they are not peculiar to this Commission - Nigerians assume that inconclusive elections are bad”.

The INEC Chairman made the call yesterday at the opening of a three-day workshop on Strategic Communication and Review of Voter Education Strategies for Heads of Department (VEP) and Public Affairs Officers (PAOs) at the Newton Park Hotel, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja.

INEC CHAIRMAN REITERATES NEED FOR INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE SHARING AND CAPACITY BUILDING

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has reiterated the need for international experience sharing and capacity building for electoral officials in Africa. He said such efforts will improve the integrity of elections in the continent.

The INEC Chairman expressed delight that the team from University of South Africa (UNISA), were around to interact with, and get relevant feedback from the programme’s Alumni (INEC staff) who had previously participated in the MDEA programme in order to recalibrate, to redesign and enhance their curriculum to meet present realities and challenges on election delivery. Said he: “The feedback from the alumni would assist the organizers to tailor their programme to the realities and challenges so that we can move the integrity of elections in our continent further”.

WE MUST INTRODUCE TECHNOLOGY IN THE CONDUCT OF LOCAL ELECTIONS – INEC CHAIRMAN

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu has called for the introduction of technology in the conduct of Local Government Elections. He said technology was important in attesting to the integrity of the process and also safeguarding the will of the people.

Professor Yakubu made the call yesterday when he received a delegation from the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions of Nigeria (FOSIECON), at the INEC headquarters in Abuja.

Addressing members of FOSIECON, he stressed that: “The time has come for the State Electoral Commissions to take a step further. INEC has taken a pioneering decision in the last general elections to introduce technology in our elections. The time has come for the State Electoral Commissions to follow suit. We can’t continue to operate manual elections any longer”.

BRIBERY ALLEGATION: INEC WILL COOPERATE WITH EFCC – INEC CHAIRMAN

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has assured that the Commission will cooperate with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in sanitizing the system following the recent bribery allegation against some staff of the Commission.
The Chairman gave the assurance last week during a meeting with Editors of Print and Electronic Media, at the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos.

He said: “whatever level of cooperation any of the agencies requires of the Commission, we will give that level of cooperation because it is also in a bid to sanitize the system”.

THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONDUCTING FREE, FAIR AND CONCLUSIVE ELECTIONS IS EVERYBODY’S – INEC CHAIRMAN

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Yakubu Mahmood has urged Nigerians to play their part in ensuring elections were devoid of violence and other vices that led to declaring an election inconclusive. 

He said: “It is not just the responsibility of the Commission but the responsibility of all of us. If we play our role and mitigate violence, because you see the fire smoldering, if no action is taken until it develops into an inferno, it becomes difficult for everybody”.

The INEC Chairman made the call yesterday when members of the INEC Press Corps paid him a courtesy call at the Commissions headquarters Abuja.

FCT ELECTIONS: HOW APC WINS FIVE CHAIRMANSHIP SEATS, APGA WINS ONE - INEC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in five (5) out of six(6) Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been declared winners of the Saturday 9th April Chairmanship elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), while the APGA candidate in Gwagwalada Area Council was declared winner in the keenly contested election.

In Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), the APC candidate, Abdullahi Adamu, was declared winner after polling 27, 482 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Kura Bitrus Tanko, emerged runner up with a total of 21,965 votes.

RIVERS RERUN: INEC RELEASES 4 FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY AND 11 STATE CONSTITUENCY RESULTS

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has released results of Federal and State Constituency elections that were successfully conducted, collated and announced by the various Returning Officers in the Saturday 19th March 2016 Rivers State court ordered re-run elections.


In a statement signed and issued by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), for Rivers State, Aniedi Abasi Ikoiwak, the Commission released the results of four (4) Federal Constituencies and that of eleven (11) State Constituencies.



A breakdown of the results released are as follows:

Nigeria Senate Confirms Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as INEC chairman

The Nigeria's senate has today confirmed the appointment of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman and successor of Prof Attahiru Jega after he was screened in the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly.

Prof. Yakubu who answered all questions posed at him by the senators, stated that, he would not be intimidated in the discharge of his activities as INEC chairman.

Ekiti Victory: President Jonathan Congratulates Governor-Elect Ayodele Fayose

The Nigerian president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated the governor-elect of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose with a call on him to be humble and magnanimous as he prepares to assume office as the goverenor of Ekiti state.

President Jonathan in his congratulatory message to the governor elect, charged him to “commit himself to forming an administration that will work for the advancement of the interests of all Ekiti people irrespective of their political affiliations or loyalties”.

He charged Mr Fayose to regard his second chance to serve as Governor of Ekiti State as a “sacred mandate from God Almighty and his people which he must discharge with immense dedication, wisdom and vigour to achieve a much more rapid pace of socio-economic development in Ekiti State for the benefit of its people who resoundingly reaffirmed their trust in his leadership by voting overwhelmingly for his election”.

President Jonathan’s message which was conveyed through a statement signed by the special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati.

One Week Ultimatum: De-register APC or Face Court Action - IPAC Chairman Tells INEC

Chairman of the Anambra State chapter of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Chief Ken Emeakayi, has faulted the registration as a political party of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The IPC Chairman said the APC has breached several sections of the Constitution and the Electoral Act that it ought not to have been registered. Emeakayi told newsmen in Abuja said the APC also breached the IPAC code of conduct by overheating the polity and consistently attacking President Goodluck Jonathan, some members of his cabinet and National Publicity Secretary of the PDP.

INEC To Begin Training Of Adhoc Staff In Osun

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osun says it will soon begin intensive training of its adhoc staff for the governorship election slated for Aug. 9.

The commission made the revelations in Osogbo, the Osun state capital, on Tuesday through the commission’s Administrative Secretary, Mr Oladipo Oladapo,  who said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) .

INEC Chair: BUYING OF VOTERS’ CARD WOULD BE FUTILE IN 2015

The Nigerian Politicians who buy voters’ cards from unsuspecting members of the public would not be able to use them in the 2015 general elections, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Attahiru Jega has said.

Jega said this is because plans have been concluded to issue all duly registered voters with chip-based permanent Voter Cards swiped with card readers to ensure 100 percent authentication and verification of voters.

Buhari to INEC : Conduct 2015 elections same day

(NAN)- Former Head of State, Retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, on Saturday, advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct 2015 general elections on the same day.

Buhari gave the advice in Daura, Katsina State, while answering questions from newsmen after he obtained APC membership card.

He said that conducting the elections in one day would help in reducing election malpractice and save cost.

He added that the litigations that trailed the 2003, 2007 and 2011 general elections would be avoided if the elections were held on the same day.

“If all the elections are conducted on the same day, there will be less cases of snatching of ballot boxes and use of political thugs to rig elections,’’ he said.

Buhari, who urged party members to come out en masse and register with the APC, expressed optimism that the opposition party would win the 2015 general elections in the country.