Your votes will count – INEC chairman, Yakubu assures Ekiti voters

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, on Monday, assured Ekiti electorate that their votes will count in the forthcoming June 18 governorship election in the state.

Yakubu gave an assurance that the electoral commission will be neutral so as to protect the integrity of the commission and the credibility of the poll.

The Chairman made this revelation in Ado Ekiti, Tuesday, during an interactive session with the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers in regard to the forthcoming June 18 governorship election in the state.

While speaking to the monarchs, Yakubu said a total of 989,202 voters had been registered in the state by the electoral body.

Meanwhile, over 740,000, according to the Chairman, had got their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in preparation for the electoral duel.

He also maintained that the commission will conduct the governorship election alongside the botched Ekiti State Assembly bye-election in Ekiti East Constituency 1.

“I want to appeal to all voters in Ekiti that their votes will count. We would still return to interact with other critical stakeholders on how to have a peaceful election in Ekiti. The atmosphere now for the conduct of the 2022 election is so calm, unlike what we had in 2018.

“I asked myself what has changed, I was told the royal fathers had been working hard to ensure that the situation is calm and I could see it is really very calm.

“In this election, there will be two ballot boxes in Ekiti East constituency 1, because they will elect their assembly representative together with the governor. There will be 16 political parties for the governorship election, but only two for the bye election in Ekiti East”.

Yakubu added that: “The number of registered voters in Ekiti is 989, 202. We expect the stake to go higher because people are still collecting their PVCs. Let me say that we are ready for the election. Our staff are being trained”.

“The BVAS had been introduced and with this, smart card readers had been fully retired. As far as technology is concerned, there will be a seamless and fantastic election in Ekiti. There was a mock election here on Monday across the state and the machine worked 100 percent.

“Where the machine is unable to get the fingerprints, we will get the facial appearance of the voter. There won’t be incidence forms, we have abolished incidence forms as well. INEC is not a political party. We don’t have a candidate and all we want is to leave who leads Ekiti in the hands of the citizens and that we shall achieve.

“So, we appeal to our traditional rulers to ensure peace. The atmosphere is peaceful and we want it to remain until the election is concluded. I assure you that the election will be credible, don’t doubt the neutrality of INEC”, he said.

The Chairman, Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers, Oba Gabriel Adejumo, commended INEC for taking responsibility of conducting an uncompromising election.

The Alawe of Ilawe Ekiti, Oba Adebanji Alabi, told the INEC to stand and work against monetisation of the election process.

Oba Alabi said: “Our system must grow to allow those who are young, but competent, and who can pilot the affairs of the country very well to be allowed to exercise their rights.

“But with the way things are going, I see that only the moneybags will be having their ways. Let us have it the way USA produced the Barrack Obama at a tender age”.