National Electoral Commission, INEC says it will conduct a mock accreditation of voters on the 4th of February in four hundred and thirty six polling units nationwide.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu stated this in Abuja during a meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs.
He said twelve polling units had been designated in each State of the Federation and four in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on the equality of the country’s 109 Senatorial Districts for the exercise.
“A comprehensive list of the polling units, including their names and PU Code numbers, as well as their distribution by State, Senatorial District, Local Government and Registration Area (Ward) would be uploaded to the Commission’s website “. he stated.
The INEC boss appealed to registered voters in the affected polling units to appear on the scheduled date with their PVCs for the mock exercise.
“Doing so would help to reassure the public of the robustness of our system and to strengthen our processes ahead of the General Election. Civil society organisations, the media and the general public are welcome to observe the process.”
Professor Yakubu noted that at the end of the exercise, the 436 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS machines involved would be reconfigured before they are deployed for the General Election.
He said movement of materials for the election to various locations nationwide was being concluded and that training of officials would soon commence.
“Ongoing consultations with stakeholders will be intensified. Airlifting and delivery of sensitive materials to States of the Federation has gone far. Accreditation of national and international observers and the media is being finalised. INEC Boss noted.
Professor Yakubu explained that critical service providers in the area of transportation have reassured us of their commitment to efficient logistics for the movement of materials and personnel to various locations while the security agencies have reaffirmed their readiness for the election.”
Professor Yakubu who commended the citizens for their determination to collect their PVCs, said the Commission would not hesitate to consider additional measures to ensure that all citizens have ample opportunity to collect their PVCs ahead of the general election.
“We wish to assure Nigerians that the Commission will always be responsive to the needs of the electorate.” (RN)
