By Daniel Kanu
Assistant Politics Editor
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has excluded all its National Commissioners from the collation of presidential poll results and other strands of elections.
It was gathered also that the commission has decided to throw open its Situation Room to accredited observers, civil society organisations and the media.
One of the implications was that neither the widely-criticised National Commissioner Amina Zakari nor any of the National Commissioners will be involved in the collation of presidential poll results.
It was gathered that INEC met on Saturday and decided to grant visitation rights to accredited observers, civil society organisations and the media.
“No National Commissioner is in charge of collation of presidential poll results. It is true that there is what is called Collation Centre but it is separate from the Collation Secretariat, which is responsible for the collation of results. No National Commissioner will be appointed into the Secretariat Committee. So, Hajiya Amina Zakari or any National Commissioner does not have anything to do with the collation of results.” The Niche gathered.
A source told The Niche that” Observers might not be allowed to see all things but they can come in and out of the Situation Room. The greatest thing INEC has done with this is openness,”
Recall that Zakari had been widely criticised weeks ago after she was appointed as head of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) collation centre.
Critics are still not satisfied with the latest move which some confided to The Niche that “as long as Zakari is there the credibility of what will happen at the centre cannot be guaranteed”.
