The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has assured that the electoral umpire will not disappoint Nigerians and the international community in conducting a free, fair and verifiable presidential and National Assembly election this weekend.

He spoke when Commonwealth Election Observation Mission to Nigeria for the 2023 general election visited the Commission in Abuja on Monday to ascertain its readiness for the poll.

Yakubu, who assured the delegation of the readiness of the Commission for the polls, said: “We are committed to a free and fair process. I want to assure you that INEC is not a political party. We don’t have a candidate in the election. The choice of who becomes what during the general election is entirely the choice of the Nigerian people.

“We are committed to a free, fair, credible, inclusive election and verifiable elections. Elections in Nigeria are huge. We understand the magnitude of the responsibility placed on our shoulders and we also understand that a credible election is a pillar on which good governance rest. I want to assure you that we will never let Nigerians down and we will not let the international community down,” he assured.

Speaking further, Yakubu explained that: “the 2023 general election is the seventh election since the restoration of democracy in 1999. It is the longest period that we have had electoral democracy. We have a voter population of over 93 million. That means that we have 16.7 million more registered voters than the other 14 countries in West Africa put together.

“So, each time Nigeria goes to the poll, it is like the whole of West Africa and more going to the poll. We have benefited from your previous election observation mission. So much innovations have been introduced over time. So, we don’t take your observations lightly.

“Your observations that require administrative intervention by the Commission have been implemented. Those that require legislation, especially subsidiary legislation, we engage with the National Assembly to carry out the necessary legislation. Our constitution, the Electoral Act and our guidelines constitute the ground norm.

“Elections are governed by law. We look forward to your recommendation after your observation of the election. It is the past recommendations that have kept us going in terms of the reviews and improvement of the electoral process.

“We are aware of the responsibility that lies on our shoulders. But we cannot do it alone. Our work is clearly cut out with assigned responsibilities for the security agencies, the parties and others. As a commission, we have constantly engaged with all stakeholders,” he said.

Earlier, the head of the delegation and former South Africa president, Thabo Mbeki, said: “We came here with the full complement of the observer mission. This is the seventh election in Nigeria that we are observing. Of course, I don’t need to say that the Commonwealth is more than a country.

“Nigeria is a very important country. It has an impact on itself and the continent as a whole. So, it is always very important that as the Commonwealth, we should come and be with you as you hold this all-important election and observe the conduct. We come very hopeful and confident that we will have a successful, peaceful and inclusive election and in the end, there will be no complaints.

“But that depends on INEC and the many other people that constitute your team. So, we have come here to listen and to understand as much as we can, your own views in terms of the preparations for the election and all other things that fall within the limit of the Commission.

“That understanding on our part is important because at the end, we will make a statement about the election and more importantly, make recommendations about whatever we see in the conduct of this election and give a comprehensive picture of what we see during the election as much as possible.

“INEC, being a critical player in the process, it is very important that we listen carefully about what INEC says and all those things that fall within the limit of the Commission so that we take them on board as we observe this election and be able to make a proper recommendation at the end of all of this.

“We look forward to a peaceful election and what we have to say to you is that you should make sure that all machinery are in place throughout the federation,” he said.(Daily Sun)