The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has given a breakdown of the Commission’s 2019 budget proposal of N45.4 billion. The electoral body also disclosed that it will release the timetable and schedule of activities for the governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi States before the end of next week. The elections are billed to hold at separate dates later this year. INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, stated this when he led other members of the Commission to defend the Commission’s 2019 budget proposal before a joint session of the Senate Committee on INEC and House Committee on Electoral matters. Yakubu, while breaking down the Commission’s 2019 budget proposal of N45.4 billion, said, “This year we are going to conduct two end of tenure elections into the offices of the governors in Kogi and Bayelsa States. “This year towards the end of the year we are going to conduct governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsea. “Let me ...

Senator representing Kogi Central in the National Assembly, Ahmed Ogembe has tasked the INEC to ensure that the logistics issues that necessitated the postponement of elections last Saturday were fully sorted out. “We cannot to fail again; the entire world is watching Nigeria. We cannot afford a second failure,” Ogembe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in a telephone interview on Tuesday. He urged stakeholders to work hard toward conducting free, fair and transparent elections that all parties would accept. Ogembe expressed confidence in INEC’s determination to conduct a credible election, but reminded Nigerians that the commission needed everyone’s support to succeed. The senator advised security agencies to conduct a random check on sensitive election materials to ensure that they were complete and in safe hands before Feb. 23, the rescheduled date. He cautioned Nigerians against selling their votes, and urged voters to be guided by their conscience....

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Kebbi State, Ahmad Mahmud, has said some of the sensitive election materials meant for the Saturday elections in Kebbi State were taken to Kaduna State and those meant for Katsina State were brought to Kebbi. The REC said this yesterday during his interactions with journalists after inspecting the elections sensitive materials at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s state office in Birnin Kebbi. He said: “Two of our forms-EC 8D1 and EC 8E1 were mistakenly taken to Kaduna and that of Katsina was brought to Kebbi. “We discover it during the inspection and they are already bringing it back to Kebbi.” The REC also said INEC in Kebbi State had received all the sensitive materials meant for the presidential and national assembly elections and would start distributing them on Wednesday across the 21 Local Government Areas of the state. He also said all Card Readers sent to the state have all been configured. “I can conf...

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has reacted to reports making the rounds on the alleged involvement of a third party in the configuration of card readers. INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, on Tuesday, addressing a press briefing in Abuja, said no third parties are involved in the configuration of card readers. He said, “I want to assure the person who asked the question and assure the nation that no third parties are involved in the configuration of smart card readers of the Commission. “The dispatching, white-listing, installation, upgrading of software, the configuration of smart card readers are done entirely by the officials of the Commission. “So, there is no way any vendor outside can be involved in the configuration of our smart card readers. “It is not true that anybody is involved in the configuration of the smart card readers in any way. “This is entirely done by the Commission’s IT under the supervision at the stat...

PDP, Malami Disagree  Over Letter Directing INEC to Shift Polls in Zamfara The National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday accused the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, of writing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to postpone the elections in Zamfara State.He claimed that the correspondence was part of efforts by the ruling All Progressives Congress APC to “arm-twist INEC and the judiciary to take illegal action in their favour.” Addressing reporters in Abuja, Secondus alleged: “What the AGF is seeking is not backed by law. He is an interested party in this matter and has no moral right to advise INEC.“The inability of the APC to field candidates due to self-inflicted crisis when other parties did within the stipulated period for the election is not covered by Sections 38 & 39 of the Electoral Act 2010 which the AGF is relying on in his d...

INEC Releases Colours of Ballot Papers, Boxes🗳 for Saturday’s Elections The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has released the colours of the ballot papers and boxes for the Presidential and National Assembly Elections on Feb. 16. Mr Leo Nkedife, INEC Head of Voter Education and Publicity in Anambra, made the release available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Thursday. According to the release, different colours of boxes and ballot papers will be used for the Presidential, Senatorial and House of Representatives ballots at the polling stations. The release stated that a red ballot paper and red box would be for the presidential election. It also indicated that a black ballot paper and black box would be for senatorial elections.

Candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the 2019 elections in Rivers State have said they will not allow elections to hold in the state if the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, does not relist them in the ballot for the general election. The candidates made the disclosure in Port Harcourt, yesterday, when they took thousands of their supporters on protest to INEC’s office in Port Harcourt. However, men of the police dispersed the protesters with teargas, after the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Obo Effangha, had addressed them and left the scene with party big wigs. Speaking, former Ambassador to Netherlands, Mr. Orji Ngofa, who is the senatorial candidate of the APC for Rivers South-East, noted that it is painful that INEC horridly delisted them (APC candidates) for the election, but was finding it difficult to relist the same candidates following order of court.