The Independent National Electoral Commission in Lagos State on Wednesday said it had received 5,995 smart card readers and other non-sensitive materials in preparation for the general elections.
Akin Orebiyi, the state’s new Resident Electoral Commissioner spoke during his inaugural press conference at the commission’s office in Lagos.
Orebiyi assured residents of the state and political parties that the commission was ready to conduct free, fair and credible elections in February.
He said: “INEC will continue to create a level-playing ground for all parties and their candidates and we will not give advantage to one party at the expense of another.
“In readiness for the elections, the Register of Voters was released yesterday in Abuja to the political parties and here in Lagos we have started receiving non-sensitive materials.
“Last week, the first batch of 5,000 ballot boxes were delivered to our office and in the early hours of this morning (Wednesday), we took delivery of 5,995 smart card readers.”
Orebiyi said the card readers would save the stress of accreditation and irregularities of multiple voting.
He said the smart cards would be configured for each polling unit.
According to him, the commission will educate Lagosians on how the smart card works and explain the electoral process to ensure success of the polls.
The REC said that over 1.8 million Permanent Voter Cards had not been claimed in the state out of over four million received in 2014.
He said: “The number of PVCs collected so far in the state is going over 2.2 million out of above 4 million received late last year.
“We still have about 1.8 million yet to be collected.
“We want to implore the media to inform the people to feel free to come out to claim their cards.”
Orebiyi said the state was still expecting about 600,000 cards for some eligible voters that registered in 2011.
He said that the state was equally expecting 1,320,664 cards for those that took part in the last Continuous Voters Registration exercise in Lagos.
According to him, the yet-to-be claimed cards can be collected at the 245 wards across the 20 Local Government Areas of the state.
“For ease of collection, distribution of the PVCs will now be extended from our present 20 LGAs Offices to 245 collation centres across the state from January 16 between 8:30am to 5:30pm daily,” he said.
He assured that the yet-to be released cards would be ready for distribution before the elections and that the commission would communicate to the people whenever they are released.
Orebiyi, who said that the cards could not be collected on behalf of the owners, added that the commission had also stopped the transfer window for voters.
He called for tolerance in the political rallies and campaigns in the state.
“We want to urge political parties to focus on issue-based campaigns, avoid personal attacks, abuses, accusations and violence.
“Let us avoid tearing or defacing of each other’s posters and billboards; let us be tolerant of other people’s views, even when they do not agree with ours,”
Orebiyi, however, said that the commission would work with political parties, the law enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies to ensure safety during the polls.
He said: “The Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, which comprises all the nation’s security agencies, INEC and other stakeholders, is working seriously to provide protection for all citizens before, during and after elections.
“We urge all political parties to discard all weapons and fight only with the power of the ballot.
“We urge them to abide by the laws of the land, the Nigerian Constitution and Electoral Act.
“Law enforcement agencies are under instructions to apprehend anyone who contravenes the law.
“Therefore, to all farmers of terror and violence; riggers of elections and supplanters of peoples’ will, there will be no place for you in the forthcoming elections.”
Orebiyi said INEC was determined to conduct credible elections and would deliver its mandate to the people of the state.
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