By Odita Sunday, Sodiq Omolaoye (Abuja), Gbenga Akinfenwa (Lagos) and Ayodele Afolabi (Ado-Ekiti)
Amid widespread apprehension and crises occasioned by the new Naira redesign policy, and insinuations that it is a ploy to prevent vote-buying, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, declared that it had concluded plans to conduct the general elections beginning next Saturday.
In similar vein, the Nigeria Police, military high commands, other security agencies and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) all reassured Nigerians of their readiness to supervise and ensure a peaceful 2023 elections.
During the week, protests erupted across the country over new Naira scarcity, heightening tension in the polity and apprehension that the protests could affect the impending polls negatively. Some politicians even alleged that agents of the Federal Government were planning to use the cash swap policy to incite crises for military take over.
But INEC, seemingly unperturbed by the insinuations, has gone ahead to put final touches to its preparation for the elections.
Yesterday in Abuja, Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, as part of activities to put perfect the Commission’s preparation for Saturday’s poll, visited the training centre for Presiding and Assistant Presiding Officers.
Yakubu also inspected the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja, venue for the final collation of the 2023 general elections results.
Addressing journalists at the ICC, Yakubu dismissed reports of any planned postponement of the general elections, declaring that the “commission is good to go.”
He said: “Basically what we have done today is to go through two activities. The first one is the training of the second batch of adhoc staff for the election. Last week, we trained Supervisory Presiding Officers (SPOs) nationwide and, today and tomorrow, we’ll finish the training of the Presiding Officers (POs), Assistant Presiding Officers I, II and III.
“These are the officers or the adhoc staff we are going to deploy to polling units. Majority of them are members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). After that, we visited the International Conference Centre where we will perform basically three activities. One, there is a hall that is going to serve as the media centre for both national and international observers, media organisations accredited for the elections. We’re also going to do our own briefing of observers coming up on Tuesday, next week at this same venue.
“The African hall will serve as collation centre for the presidential election. By the side of the Africa Hall will be our own situation room where we will deploy our platforms, which is INEC Citizens Contact Centre (ICCC). Here, citizens can ask questions, respond to issues or challenges in the field and we’ll be able, in turn, to also respond speedily to give citizens a happy voting experience.
“For the media, there will be a place we have earmarked for those who wish to set up studios to be able to do so and those of you who wish to bring your Outside Broadcasting Vans. In essence, the 2023 general election is here.
“By this time next week, Nigerians will be voting in over 176,000 polling units nationwide and the outcome of that process for presidential election will be compiled here and announced.”
Source: The Guardian
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