Ahead of Nigeria’s next general elections, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu has charged Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), to ensure strict compliance with the law.
Speaking yesterday at the swearing-in of 19 new RECs whose names were submitted to the Senate by President Muhammadu Buhari and subsequently cleared by the lawmakers, Professor Yakubu advised them to insulate themselves from temptations and pressures of inducement from politicians. He urged them to adhere strictly to the Commission’s Code of Conduct and avoid undue fraternity with politicians.
Yakubu also advised them to ensure that their loyalty was to Nigeria, adding that INEC must continue to ensure that the choice of Nigerians on Election Day prevailed.
“With exactly 113 days to the 2023 General Election, we are aware that the task ahead of us is not easy but we must never disappoint Nigerians. Our loyalty is to Nigeria and our allegiance is to Nigerians. Only their votes should determine winners in the 2023 General Election; Nothing more, nothing less.
“There should be no deviation from this path of honour and integrity”, he emphasised.
He said that the only means for voter accreditation in the 2023 general election was the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) while results will be uploaded to the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) in real-time on Election Day, as provided by law.
The new RECs are Uzochukwu Chijioke-Abia; Nuru Yunusa- Adamawa; Queen Elizabeth Agu-Anambra; Mohammed Nura-Bauchi; Samuel Egwu-Benue; Yomere Oritsemolebi-Cross River; Onyeka Ugochi-Ebonyi, and Obo Effanga- Edo.
Others were Ayobami Salami-Ekiti; Umar Ibrahim-Gombe; Sylvia Agu-Imo; Muhammad Bashar-Jigawa; Abdu Zango-Kano; Yahaya Ibrahim-Katsina; Ahmed Garki-Niger; Agboke Olaleke-Osun; Agundu Tersoo-Plateau, Nura Ali-Sokoto, and Ibrahim Abdullahi–Yobe.
