JUST IN: INEC facilities are national assets, Yakubu tells Nigerians

The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu on Monday pleaded with Nigerians to see its facilities across the states as ‘national assets.’

Yakubu’s plea came following the seventh attack on INEC facilities in five states of the federation in the last four months.

The INEC chairman, who spoke at a meeting with the West Africa Elders’ Forum, said protecting the Commission’s facilities was a collective responsibility.

He said, “Your visit is coming exactly 81 days to our General Election which will hold in two phases beginning with the national election (Presidential and National Assembly) holding on Saturday 25th February 2023, followed two weeks later by the State elections (Governorship and State Houses of Assembly) on Saturday, 11th March 2023.

“Our preparations are approaching concluding stages. We are conducting the 2023 General Election with a new Electoral Act and several innovations in voter accreditation and result management. We are confident in our processes but we will not be complacent. Responsibilities within our control are handled diligently.

“However, there are a few areas of concern, the main one being the prevailing insecurity in the country. In less than two weeks, three of our local Government offices were attacked across the country, bringing the total number of such attacks to seven in the last four months.

“While we want to reassure Nigerians that we will recover from these attacks, and the election will proceed as scheduled, we would like to appeal to all citizens to see the Commission’s facilities as national asset. It is our collective responsibility to join hands in protecting them. The attacks must stop and the perpetrators swiftly apprehended and prosecuted.”