Ensure every vote counts in Anambra, INEC chairman tells election officials

Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has directed staff participating in the Anambra governorship election to ensure that all votes count.

Yakubu gave the directive on Friday in his message to the commission’s staff.

He said in spite of the challenging situation in the build-up to the election — including attacks on INEC facilities — the commission’s determination to ensure that the election holds as scheduled had remained unshaken.

He reminded the staff that over the next few days, all eyes would be on the commission.

He also said INEC had delivered all sensitive and non-sensitive materials for the election on schedule and deployed election duty staff.

Yakubu also explained that INEC has made logistics arrangements to move personnel and materials to thousands of locations in Anambra where voting and collation of results would take place.

“It is therefore imperative for all of you to ensure that every single vote counts,” he said.

“You must remain true to our commitment that only the voters in Anambra State determine who becomes the next Governor of the State.

“In doing so, you must be guided by the extant laws, our guidelines/regulations and good conscience. You should remain vigilant, principled and committed to the vision and mission of the Commission.”

He added that despite the challenges encountered, INEC had rebuilt its fixed assets and replaced movable facilities.

“We also sought and obtained the support of the security agencies, political parties and candidates and all other stakeholders for a successful exercise,” he said.

“As you are aware, Nigerians expect the Anambra Governorship election to be an improvement on the high standards achieved in recent elections.

That is why we introduced the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for fingerprint and facial biometric authentication of voters. We have trained staff on the new technology.”