By NewsBits
With few weeks to the general elections in the country, which will bring the eight years of the Muhammadu Buhari’s presidency to an end, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) earlier today said that it has completed the distribution of materials for the 2023 general election.
INEC also informed that airlifting and delivery of sensitive materials to states of the federation has begun, adding that accreditation of national and international observers and the media has been finalised. Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman of INEC made the disclosure at a meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Abuja on Friday, adding that the training of INEC officials will soon commence.
According to Mahmood, “As you are aware, we have exactly four weeks to the opening of polls on Saturday February 25, 2023, for the Presidential and National Assembly elections to be followed two weeks later by the Governorship and State Assembly elections on Saturday March 11, 2023. 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.”
However, the INEC chairman noted that there are still a few issues to be addressed, noting that one of them is the ongoing collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). He also said that out of the 940,200 PVCs delivered to Lagos State from the recent voter registration exercise, 839,720 PVCs have been collected, representing 89.3% of the total figure, adding that INEC would conduct a mock accreditation of registered voters across the 436 polling units nationwide on Saturday, February 4, 2023.
