The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has called on Resident Electoral Commissioners to be firm and courageous on the side of the law at all times.
Yakubu made the call on Tuesday during the swearing in of seven new Resident Electoral Commissioners.
The new commissioners are Mr Segun Agbaje; Mr. Baba Abba Yusuf; Dr. Uthman Abdulrahman Ajidagba; Mr Yahaya Bello; Dr. Emmanuel Hart; Mr. Mohammed Magaji Ibrahim and Dr. Cyril Omorogbe.
Agbaje and Yusuf were reappointed while the other five are fresh appointees.
Yakubu told the RECs that they would be responsible for the implementation of the Commission’s policies.
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He said they would also carry out supervisory control over personnel, resources, legal and administrative processes in the states to which they might be posted.
He told them that they could be posted to any part of the country at any time as required while stating however that at present, they would be posted to states within their respective geo-political zones.
He however asserted that none of the RECs would be posted to his state of origin throughout his tenure.
“As election managers, you must maintain the required openness and consultation. At the same time, you must be very firm and courageous on the side of the law as well as our regulations and guidelines at all times, as required of an unbiased umpire,” Yakubu warned.
Also at the occasion, Yakubu spoke on some of the activities of the commission.
He said INEC had embarked on Continuous Voter Registration nationwide in preparation for the 2019 general elections.
He said it was the first time Nigerians had the opportunity to register continuously as stipulated by the Electoral Act.
His words: “For the first time in the history of our elections, citizens who have attained the age of 18 years and those who could not register before the last General Elections now have the opportunity to do so on a continuous basis as provided for by the Electoral Act.
“The exercise is conducted at designated centres nationwide on quarterly basis. We have also devolved the registration to Ward level in Ekiti and Osun states, ahead of their governorship elections.”
The chairman of INEC also gave assurance that those who registered in 2017 would be able to collect their PVCs in the first week of May.
Yakubu informed the RECs about the coming elections.
He mentioned the four bye-elections ahead as the one of Takun State Constituency in Taraba State; Lokoja/Koton-Karfe Federal Constituency in Kogi State; Bauchi South Senatorial District and Katsina North Senatorial District.
He also mentioned the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states.
