Election won’t be postponed, ignore fake news, it says
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Ignore fake news throttled by renegades, the vote will not be postponed even in the face of naira and fuel scarcity, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has pledged.
The INEC tweeted the “fake news alert” on Monday night and insisted it has no plan to postpone the election.
“Our attention has been drawn to a fake report circulating on the social media with the title: ‘INEC May Postpone Feb. 25 Election by a week or two’.
“The commission will not and is not contemplating postponing the 2023 General Election. Nigerians should disregard it,” the INEC clarified.
The fake news on Monday claimed the INEC may shift the presidential election from 25 February to 4 March due to naira scarcity.
But Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, also insisted there is no plan to postpone the election.
“It is not true. INEC will not, and is not even contemplating postponing the 2023 general election.
“To be sure, the presidential and National Assembly election will take place on Feb. 25, while the governorship/State Houses of Assembly election will hold on March 11 as scheduled,” per the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), via The Nation.
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INEC banks on BVAS, e-transmission to repeat Osun, Ekiti successes in 2023 ballot
Osun and Ekiti governorship ballot success stories last year will be repeated and expanded nationwide in the general election this year, the INEC pledged.
It gave the assurance at the Election Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC) Amber Zone Implementers Workshop for 2023 General Elections, organised by INEC in collaboration with Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI) and European Union Support for Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EUSDGN).
Lagos Resident Electoral Commissioner Olusegun Agbaje stressed the EMSC is a proactive measure to reduce challenges during elections.
He said besides the constitutional responsibility and obligation of the INEC to conduct free, fair, credible and hitch-free election it must demonstrate its ingenuity, capability, commitment, and determination to ensure vote credibility.
“It’s crystal clear that all eyes are on INEC, Nigeria’s electoral umpire, concerning the conduct of the much-anticipated 2023 general elections,” Agabaje said.
“It is, therefore, imperative that all hands must be on deck to support and avail preparations that are in top gear for a resounding success in the forthcoming general elections.
“The Commission cannot just afford to fail because the consequences would be too grave to contemplate.”
Mohammed Kuna Special Adviser to INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu, reiterated the importance of the workshop to overall health of the electoral process, and declared preparations have begun in earnest.
“This training provides us at both HQ [headquarters] and state levels, an opportunity and the necessary tools to have clear assessment of the readiness statuses, as well as to have total control over all planned activities,” he said.
“Doing so frees up more time to deal with unplanned or unanticipated events that may arise during the elections.”