Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC], Professor Attahiru Jega has said that the result of the Kogi State governorship election would be announced within 48 hours after the election.
This is as he assured all the constantans in the election that the electoral is adequately prepared to ensure that the election is free, fair and credible, stressing that INEC had released all the non-sensitive and sensitive materials needed for the election while all the electoral officers and the ad-hoc staff mainly from the NYSC have been well trained in the discharged of their responsibilities.
Professor Jega disclosed this while briefing newsmen yesterday shortly after the end of stakeholders’ forum meeting with the governorship candidates of various political parties and officials of parties toward ensuring violence free poll.
According to him, “INEC under my leadership is going to provide a level playing ground to all the candidates and I want to assured you that we are not going to take side with politician to win the election and any of our staff caught aiding and abetting any candidate to rig the election would be made to face the full wrath of the law”.
“We [INEC] have since improved from the conduct of the last election in April we have perfected all the lapses we discovered during the last general election and I am bold to informed everybody that INEC is well prepared for this weekend Kogi state governorship election”, he assured.
On the allegation that some political parties have been stockpiling arms and ammunition for the purpose of rigging the election, Jega said that he has directed the security agencies to investigate the allegation, adding that if the allegation is correct then the person or group of persons involved would be arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law according to the electoral act.
Jega added that the commission is working closely with the security agencies to ensure that the election is violence free, fair and credible, stressing that all the eligible voters who were registered during the voter registration exercise should be free to come out and exercise their civil responsibility noting that their security would be guarantee while those that have no business around the polling unit are advised to stay clear of the voting areas as the security agencies have been mandated to arrest anybody no matter how highly placed in the state who may want to cause crisis during and after the election.
He then advised all the candidates for the election who may want to challenge the conduct or the declaration of the election result not to use violence but to follow the normal due process as contained in the electoral act.
Source: Daily Champion
