Says smart card readers reconfigured, no going back on February 23 poll
Ime Akpan
The Independent National Electoral Commission has disagreed with President Muhammadu Buhari over his order to security agents to kill ballot box snatchers during the February 23 presidential and national assembly elections.
Buhari had said the All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus meeting held in Abuja on Monday that he had ordered the military not to spare anyone who snatches ballot boxes or brings thugs to polling centres.
“I have given the military and police the order to be ruthless. I am going to warn anybody who thinks he would lead a body of thugs in his locality to snatch boxes or to disturb the voting system; he would do it at the expense of his/her own life,” he said.
But reacting to the president’s order at a media briefing held in Abuja on Tuesday, INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the commission only recognises the provision in the Electoral Act which “states that persons who snatch election materials are liable to a prison term of two years or maximum fine of N500, 000.”
“The position of the order of the shot at sight is that the violators of the Electoral Act should be punished according to the provisions of the Electoral Act,” he stressed.
Yakubu also used the occasion to disclaim reports that the Department of State Services (DSS), had arrested six senior staff of the commission, including Prof. Okechukwu Ibeano, Mr. Festus Okoye, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi and others.
“No commissioner of the commission was picked up by any security agency; no house of any commissioner of INEC was raided; no any commissioner of INEC has been picked up by security agencies. The particular commissioner you are referring to that was mentioned in the social media is as we speak, in his office in the commission. Similarly, no six directors were picked up by any security agencies,” said Yakubu.
On the commission’s preparation for the presidential and national assembly polls taking place on February 23, Yakubu said: “By Monday evening, all issues relating to the delivery of the materials were identified and virtually addressed. Ballot papers, result sheets and a host of non-sensitive materials are now in location across the 37 states of the Federation and the FCT.
“Our state offices commenced the process of inviting stakeholders to the Central Bank of Nigeria to examine the retrieved materials deployed last week and to witness the dispatching of materials according to Local Government Areas. This is ongoing at the moment and is expected to be completed today (Tuesday) February 19, 2019.
“The movement of materials to LGAs for batching according to Wards and Polling Units shall take place on Wednesday and Thursday February 21, 2019. A11 Registration Area Centres (RACs) are to be activated by 9.00am on Friday February 22, 2019. Personnel and materials should be at the RACs by mid-day on Friday February 22, 2019.
“Refresher training for ad hoc personnel should take place at the RACs on Friday February 22, 2019. Personnel and materials must arrive at the Polling Units latest 7am on Saturday February 23, 2019. Opening of polls nationwide will take place at 8am on Saturday February 23, 2019.”
Speaking further on why the poll suffered a week-long postponement, the INEC chief said: “Last Saturday, the commission, after extensive review of our preparedness for the 2019 general election, decided that it was necessary to reschedule the elections by one week.
“As I explained to stakeholders, we were constrained to shift the polls due to severe challenges and lapses we experienced with arrival and distribution of sensitive materials, as well as the fires that gutted some of our offices in quick succession, destroying several election materials.”
“You would recall that in my address to stakeholders, I mentioned that we intended to reschedule the elections for just 24 hours to enable us to deliver the final batch of sensitive materials for the elections.
“However, our ICT team notified us that it would require more time to reconfigure the Smart Card Readers in time for the elections. Let me explain why. The Smart Card Readers (SCRs) are configured to only open for use at 8a.m. on Election Day, and to automatically shut down by 10p.m.
“This is designed to forestall any illegal use of the SCRs before the appointed time of elections. There are roughly 180,000 SCRs to be deployed for the elections and the ICT team said that they would require 5-6 days to complete the configuration.
“I am glad to say that as at today, about 98 per cent of the smart reader cards (SCRs) have been reconfigured and we are confident that by tomorrow all would be ready, which is a day earlier than scheduled.”
