2023 General Election Will Hold As Scheduled, Says Prof. Yakubu

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said despite the insecurity and other challenges facing the country, the 2023 general elections would be held as scheduled.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this on Thursday in Abuja at the public presentation of the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan (SP) and the 2023 Election Project Plan (EPP).

According to him, the documents were the third in the series of strategic election plans since deliberate planning of elections started in 2012.

He expressed delight that the plans have been finalised 10 months ahead of the 2023 general elections.

According to him, the elections would be conducted for 1,491 constituencies nationwide made up of one presidential constituency, 109 senatorial districts, 360 federal constituencies, 28 governorship elections and 993 state constituencies.

He said the election will involve an estimated one million electoral officials (both permanent and temporary or ad hoc staff) deployed to 176,846 polling units (PUs) in 8,809 Wards and 774 Local Government Areas across the country.

The INEC boss also said by next week, the commission will conclude the revision of the Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

He added that work has also commenced on the review of the manuals for the training of election duty personnel.

He said the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise will end on 30th June 2022 and all eligible voters that are yet to register are advised to do so on or before that date if they intend to vote.

He urged Nigerians who registered between June and December 2021 to collect their PVCs in person as no PVCs will be collected by proxy.

The INEC boss reiterated that PVCs have no expiry date and assure all registered voters that PVCs issued by INEC remain valid for all elections.

Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, has said all security agencies are assessing the security situation ahead of the 2023 general elections.

He said this Thursday while fielding questions from State House reporters after the first meeting of the National Security Council in 2022 presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The IGP said security agencies were working to ensure that timetable on election duties were protected and that a conducive atmosphere was guaranteed for Nigerians to exercise their franchise.

Daily Trust