The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has reaffirmed the commission’s readiness for a smooth conduct of the October 10 gubernatorial election in Ondo State.
Yakubu said this on Wednesday while speaking with newsmen in Akure, where he is on a 3-day visit to assess the preparedness of the Ondo State office of the commission and to meet with various stakeholders on the forthcoming election.
The INEC boss, who also said that he was in the state to meet with the commission’s staff members on ground said that in spite of the unfortunate fire incident, the commission was fully prepared for the election.
“We have already recovered. Unfortunately, we lost 5,000 smart card readers, but we recovered by getting the prerequisite number of card readers from the neighbouring Oyo State, and they have been delivered.
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“They have arrived, been charged and configured and are ready for the election on Oct.10, in Ondo State.
“Importantly, we will use the Z-pads to upload results on election day real-time and we have moved those Z-pads from Edo to Ondo State for the election.
“So, the same preparations that we made for Edo, we have also made for Ondo, so we are prepared for the election,” he said.
Yakubu said he would also meet with council of traditional rulers, security agencies, and officials of the commission in the 18 Local Government Areas of the state for the purpose of the election.
“This is the first visit. We are still coming back a week after for the main stakeholders’ visit and the signing of the peace accord,” he said.
Recall that 5,141 card readers to be used for the conduct of the October 10 governorship election in Ondo State were damaged at the Akure INEC office in a night fire outbreak.