In less than a month to the forthcoming general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that movement of sensitive election materials across the nation is ongoing.

This was disclosed by the INEC’s Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu on Friday, during a meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners held in Abuja.

According to Prof Yakubu, the commission is putting a finishing touches to its preparation, adding that training of national and international observers including the media is being finalised.

“I am glad to report that movement of materials for the election to various locations nationwide is being concluded. Training of officials will commence shortly. Ongoing consultations with stakeholders will be intensified. Airlifting and delivery of sensitive materials to States of the Federation has gone far. Accreditation of national and international observers and the media is being finalised.

“Critical service providers in the area of transportation have reassured us of their commitment to efficient logistics for the movement of materials and personnel to various locations while the security agencies have reaffirmed their readiness for the election,” he said.

Speaking further, the chairman of the nation’s electoral body stated that collection of Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) is still an issue to be addressed, adding however, that the commission is impressed by the attitude of registered voters to the collection of their PVCs, assuring that the Commission will be responsive to the needs of the electorate.

“However, the Commission is aware that there are a few issues to be addressed. One of them is the ongoing collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs). The Commission is encouraged by the determination of registered voters nationwide to collect their PVCs and the actual level of collection so far.

“For instance, in Lagos State, which has the highest number of registered voters in the country, the Commission delivered 940,200 PVCs from the recent voter registration exercise (June 2021 to July 2022) for both new registrants and requests for transfer and replacement of cards. As of yesterday Thursday 26th January 2023, 839,720 PVCs have been collected representing 89.3% of the total figure. This meeting with RECs will consider reports from other States of the Federation and the Commission will not hesitate to consider additional measures to ensure that all citizens have ample opportunity to collect their PVCs ahead of the General Election. We wish to assure Nigerians that the Commission will always be responsive to the needs of the electorate.”

He added that INEC has taken delivery and tested the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines to be used for the election, noting that ahead of the nationwide deployment of the machines, “the next step is to conduct field tests across the country involving actual voters”. (Sunday Tribune)

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