The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has confirmed that the results of the upcoming governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi will be uploaded on the Result Viewing Portal, IReV.
Yakubu made this announcement during a press briefing at Ward 009, LEA School, Ganaja Village, Ajaokuta Local Government Area, Kogi State. He was in the state to oversee a mock accreditation exercise in preparation for the November 11 governorship election.
He assured that INEC would adhere to the legal procedures for accreditation and results collation during the elections, which involves electronic accreditation and uploading of results on the IReV portal. The mock exercise was conducted to ensure the efficiency of this process.
Yakubu urged those registered on the IReV portal to check for the results of the mock accreditation, which would be available in the next few hours. He emphasized that the commission would follow the same procedure as in previous elections.
Regarding security concerns, Yakubu stated that INEC was already working closely with security agencies to ensure a safe and secure electoral process in the three states. He mentioned that a high-level meeting, co-chaired by himself and the National Security Adviser, would be held to discuss security arrangements.
To address crowd control at PU 009 in Ganaja, Yakubu explained that INEC was implementing proactive measures to ensure a smooth voting experience on Election Day. He noted that the polling unit had 13,000 registered voters, making it the largest and most densely populated in Nigeria. On Election Day, the voter register would be organized alphabetically by surnames to expedite the voting process.
Yakubu acknowledged the challenge of flooding in the area and revealed that INEC was making arrangements to use an alternative location in case of flooding. The commission would deploy a minimum of eight BVAS machines on Election Day to facilitate voter accreditation.
The Chairman also met with INEC staff in Lokoja to assess the state’s readiness for the upcoming election. He expressed satisfaction with the delivery of non-sensitive materials and urged local authorities to organize and prepare the materials for distribution to polling units.
The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Kogi, Dr. Gabriel Longpet, reported that 60% of the budget had been received, and funds were being disbursed to local government areas. He also requested direct cash delivery from the Central Bank to avoid transportation delays and problems with RAC activation.
Additionally, Longpet mentioned that areas of potential concern had been identified and would be the focus of security deployment during the elections.