Results of Kogi, Bayelsa, Imo elections to be transmitted electronically, INEC clarifies

Tamarauemi Ebimini

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed the report that it would adopt manual collation of results for the upcoming governorship elections in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi states.

The commission assured voters that it would transmit the governorship election results electronically to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the clarification, yesterday, after monitoring the mock accreditation exercise in Kogi State ahead of the elections.

Recall that the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Bayelsa, Obo Effanga, had during an interactive session with religious leaders and faith-based organisations, recently, said the commission planned to transmit results of the November 11 Bayelsa governorship election manually.

But addressing journalists at the polling units visited at Ganaja Village, Ajaokuta, Yakubu urged Nigerians to disregard reports that INEC would transmit the results of the governorship elections manually.

“The method is as provided by law; electronic accreditation, electronic upload of results on the IREV portal and that is why we are doing this mock. So, please disregard whatever was reported about what the REC was said to have said in Bayelsa.

“That’s going to be the procedure and it’s for that reason that I will advise those who are registered on the IREV portal, that in the next two hours or so, they should go to the IREV portal to see results of the mock accreditation from all the three states. We are uploading, as we had done in previous elections,” Yakubu stated.

Yakubu further said the commission would be meeting heads of security agencies next week Friday to discuss the security situation in the areas.

While assuring voters that the commission was on top of the situation in terms of security arrangement and deployment, he added: “So far so good in terms of assurance from the security agencies. As we can see, they are even here for the mock and next week, Friday.