The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, has disclosed the real reason gubernatorial elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States were declared ‘inconclusive’.
He said the elections were so declared because the electoral process was getting keener, more competitive and generally better.
The INEC chairman made this disclosure in Abuja on Tuesday at the 11th public lecture of The Electoral Institute (TEI) titled “Between refuge and rights: internally displaced persons (IDPs) and inclusive electoral process in Nigeria”.
According to him, citizens should get accustomed to the idea of using card readers and smart cards as they have come to stay in our electoral process.
Also, he assured Nigerians of the sanctity of the polls, stating that the electoral body would always adhere strictly with the provision of the electoral act and other relevant extant laws in the conduct of its business.
Expressing his views on the Kogi and Bayelsa polls, Yakubu noted: “the truth is that our elections are getting better, they are also becoming competitive. By the same token, Citizens are now more confident that the votes really count. INEC will continue to ensure that the credibility of our elections remain sacrosanct. Acts of thuggery, ballot box snatching, willful violation of guidelines and deliberate acts void the card reader will always attract sanctions.”
The INEC chairman also declared that, “we are satisfied with the processes and procedures for as well as the conduct of the elections. We have no major problem with deployment of logistics and personnel for the elections.
“However, I must admit that we have recorded some glitches in the operation and configuration of the smart card readers with particular respect to the biometric authentication of voters. Although the reported cases are not substantial enough to mar the elections, we are however determined to ensure that we address these challenges in gutted elections at whatever level it may occur, be it at the level of technology or staff training and handling of equipment by electoral officials.
“We welcome suggestions from Nigerians at large in this regard bearing in mind that the smart card reader is still a technology in its pioneering stage in our electioneering stage but has already revolutionized our electoral process.
“We have already received reports from Bayelsa that some people are saying they can’t vote without the card readers. It is part of the process that has revolutions our elections and it has come to stay. And whatever we will do to make it better we will do so.”
The election in Kogi has since been concluded while the process in Bayelsa is still inconclusive, following cases of violence and wide-scale electoral malpractices in Southern Ijaw.