The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has expressed optimism that the upcoming Ondo State Governorship Election scheduled for November 16, would be a successful exercise.
He believes the election will be fair and transparent, having learned valuable lessons from previous elections, including the recent governorship election in Edo State.
Advertorial
Yakubu made these remarks on Monday during his visit to the INEC state headquarters in Akure, the capital of Ondo State.
He stated, “We have learnt a lot of lessons not only from the last election but also from previous elections. Basically, there are two challenges: the first one is logistics for the election, so that polling units open promptly on election day. The second one is result management, and my assurance to voters in Ondo State is that they are going to see fast improvement in these two processes.”
Advertorial
“We have received positive reports from our state office in Akure, but we decided also to come for readiness assessment. So, we are here basically to look at what is happening, and the good work that the state office has done,” he explained.
He indicated plans to engage with various stakeholders, saying, “We are going to meet with the stakeholders including political parties, civil society organisations, the media, and security agencies, and we are also going to meet with our staff to assess our readiness.”
Advertorial
Yakubu added, “We will be here for a few days. One of the activities we are also going to observe is the mock accreditation of voters, which will take place in 16 polling units across six local government areas in the three senatorial zones of the state.”
He added that the team would meet with stakeholders on Thursday, and the next day, the National Peace Committee would invite all stakeholders for the signing of the national peace accord.
