Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Friday said the commission would continue to accord priority to staff welfare, to ensure optimum performance.
Yakubu made this known during his first visit to INEC’s South West zonal office in Ibadan.
He said the commission had paid hazard allowance promptly to the staff since his assumption to office, in order to motivate them to be dedicated to duty.
“Staff welfare is a continuous process and I shall continue to ensure that the staff are well taken care of, for optimum service delivery.
“ I have also instructed the accounts office at the Headquarter that by 20th of every month the staff must have been receiving their salary.
“Free and fair election is not conducted by the Card Reader alone but in conjunction with human beings.
“To whom much is given much is expected and I urged the staff to put more effort so that the commission can consolidate on the achievements recorded in the previous election,’’ Yakubu said.
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He said the commission had commenced preparations for the 2019 election, and plan to strengthen the use of technology during the polls.
Yakubu commended the INEC zonal office for ensuring that no election was nullified in the zone.
The chairman said about 80 elections were nullified in other zones.
In his comments, Dr Gabriel Adah, the Oyo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, told the chairman that the staff were ready for Saturday’s by-election into Oorelope State Constituency.
Adah said that both sensitive and non-sensitive material had been delivered to the Local Government area.
He said that the constituency has 78 polling Units and 10 registration areas.
Adah also expressed gratitude to the chairman for choosing Oyo State as his first place of visit in the South West. (NAN)