The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, has vowed not to resign over the postponement of the general election.
Hours before the commencement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday, February 16, the INEC chairman announced that the election had been shifted to Saturday, February 23, while the Governorship and State Assembly elections earlier scheduled for March 2 were shifted to March 9.
The announcement had led to calls for Yakubu’s resignation, with National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole leading the charge.
However, the INEC chairman has promised not to resign but to focus on delivering a general election that Nigerians can be proud of.
Speaking on Thursday at the commission’s daily briefing ahead of Saturday polls, Yakubu said, “I am not under any pressure. I see no reason to even contemplate resigning.
“There is no reason whatsoever to even contemplate resigning. We will stay focused as a commission, we will do the job that is there for us to do.”
Meanwhile, Yakubu disclosed that 72.7 million out of a total voter population of over 84 million had collected their Permanent Voter Cards ahead of Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.
The INEC Chairman said, “The commission has operated on the policy that no citizen can vote without the PVC issued by the commission. Having announced the total number of registered voters and the distribution by age, gender and occupation, citizens serve the right to know how many PVCs have been collected across the country.
“The last date for the collection of PVCs was was Monday 11th February 2019. Out of 84, 094, 84 registers voters, the total number of PVCs collected stands at 72, 775, 585 which represents 86.3 percent of the total PVCs produced.”