By TINA TIMOTHY

As Nigeria prepares for the 2023 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that no one could predict who would eventually emerge the winner at any level until all votes have been counted, adding that all those currently engaging in permutations were only wasting their time as only registered voters in Nigeria would determine the winners.

According to Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who made the comments on the INEC WhatsApp platform on Sunday, December 18, 2022, no presidential candidate has any magic wand to win the general election more than the other.

He said: “The 2023 general election is not about one presidential/governorship candidate, one political party or one region of the country. There are 18 registered political parties fielding 18 presidential candidates and there are also six geo-political zones in Nigeria. No region is more important than the other, and no presidential candidate has any magic wand to win the general election more than the other.

“INEC is not a political party and we are not interested in any candidate. Our job is to provide a level playing field for all contestants and we will do so. We will not be distracted.

“And whether anybody likes it or not, only the registered voters in Nigeria will determine the winners of all the political offices on offer in the 2023 General election.

“To be sure, no one can predict who will eventually emerge the winner at any level until all votes have been counted. All those currently engaging in permutations are just wasting their time.”

Oyekanmi added that attack on INEC offices which has risen to 50 should be top priority of issues to be discussed and “not conspiracy theories that lead to nowhere.”

“The spate of attacks on INEC offices, 50 of such attacks between 2019 and now, to me, is a more serious matter that everybody should be concerned about.

“This is the time to discuss real fundamental issues, not conspiracy theories that lead to nowhere,” he added.

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