Nigerians await announcement of Presidential and National assembly election results
……as stakeholders sue for peace – By Chinyere Ogbonna-The collation of yesterday’s presidential and National Assembly elections results are ongoing across the country as citizens anxiously wait for a declaration of who will lead the country in another four years.
The Independent National Electoral Commission’s Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu earlier today briefed the press and stakeholders including domestic and international election observers of reports of happenings during the elections across the country. Professor Mahmood commended Nigerians for their peaceful and patriotic conducts during the polls.
He said elections are all about the people. “Once again Nigerians have demonstrated extraordinary resilience and abiding faith in democracy and the electoral process.”
“We wish to reiterate our commitment to protecting the sanctity of the ballot and the integrity of the choices made by Nigerians at the polls”. He said the commission met and reviewed the processes and challenges arising from the conduct of the elections based on reports received from the Commission’s offices nationwide as well as information available from various citizens contact platforms.
Professor Yakubu was not unaware of delays in the arrival of personnel and electoral materials which did not arrive on time, resulting in delays in opening of polls.
“We responded by extending the voting period to compensate for the loss of time. Our report indicates that many citizens who would have otherwise been disenfranchised had the opportunity to vote.”
“Similarly, in spite of our best efforts to enhance the functionality of the smart card readers, we experienced technical glitches in some locations through the deployment of eight thousand, eight hundred and nine area registration area technical support or hi-tech that we engaged as ad-hoc staff, many of these glitches were successfully rectified which enabled voting to take place seamlessly in some of the affected polling units”.
“Yet there were places where voting could not proceed as a result of the failure of the smart card readers”. He also acknowledged that there are places materials arrived late for voting to proceed. “In addition there were places materials arrived late for voting to proceed”.
He noted that in line with the Commission’s regulations and guidelines, new smart cards were being configured to be used in the affected polling units.
The INEC boss confirmed elections were ongoing or had been concluded in some polling units in Abia State, Bayelsa, Benue, Plateau, Zamfara and one polling units in Binchi local government of Sokoto state and Kuje area council of the federal capital territory.
He expressed the commission’s determination to ensure that the vote of every Nigerian is important and must count.
According to the INEC boss, preliminary reports from Owerri municipal council, two could in Rivers state, Okota in Lagos were being monitored.
He mentioned that the commission was aware of incidences of intimidation, abduction and hostage taking on election officials and violence in Akwa Ibom, Osun, and Rivers State.
Prof Yakubu also confirmed and regretted the death of an ad-hoc Staff who was hit by a bullet while returning from election duty in Degema, Rivers state.
He decried that INEC staff were attacked in Osun State and condemned it in its entirety and urged security agencies to investigate and prosecute expeditiously all the people involved.
Professor Mahmood noted in his address on Sunday, that the Commission has taken an in-depth analysis of the situation of things around the nation, with a major focus at the hitches encountered during the conduct of polls. He acknowledged that the commission was aware of citizens who had their permanent voter cards but Were unable to vote because their names were not found on the registered voter list.
Professor Yakubu also noted the dereliction of duty by some INEC staff either by refusing to activate or deploy the smart card readers, noting that all staff of the commission swore to an oath of neutrality.
Meanwhile, a former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar has called on Nigerians to maintain peace during and after the elections. General Abdulsalami stated this after he and his spouse finished casting their votes at the Hill Top, Water Tank polling unit in Chanchaga LGA on Saturday.
He called on the contestants to be aware that only one of them will emerge the winner and whoever loses should concede defeat for peace.
General Abdulsalami who said without peace there would’ be no election, appealed to all contestants to accept what the results when they are released, regardless if they win or lose.
“I want to appeal to all contestants to know that only one of them will emerge the winner, and whoever emerges the winner I hope the losers will accept,” he stated.
The 2019 general elections are the sixth in the nation since 1999, the year Nigeria returned to democratic rule, and the first since the All Progressives Congress ousted the People’s Democratic Party from power after it ruled the country for 16 years.
A total of 73 candidates are in the presidential race, according to INEC, including the incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari, and a former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who are the major flag bearers.
The National Assembly election has hundreds of candidates across 91 registered political parties jostling for the 109 available seats in the Senate and the 360 spots in the House of Representatives.
After an intriguing period of political campaigns associate with defections and exchange of words, and the postponement of postponement of the polls by a week, Nigerians were all out to give their verdict.
Out of the 84,004,084 citizens registered for the elections, 72,755,502 of that number have Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and were expected to vote in the 119,973 polling units across the 36 states if the federation and the federal capital territory, capital Abuja.
