Monday 6 April 2015

Only card reader’ll be used for gov poll –INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission has said only its card reader will be used for Saturday’s governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections.

It therefore advised those thinking that the commission would have a rethink on the use of cards to perish the thought.

The Chief Press Secretary to the chairman of the commission, Mr. Kayode Idowu, disclosed this in an interview with our correspondent.

Some politicians such as the Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, had called on the commission to make another pronouncement on the use of the card reader for the elections on Saturday.

Aliyu said the call became necessary following the failure of some of the cards   during the March 28 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

When this happened, the commission allowed voters to be identified manually.

But Idowu said that that would not be possible with the Saturday elections.

He said, “Concerning the Saturday elections, which is for the governorship and state Houses of Assembly, nothing has changed. We will continue with the use of the card reader . In fact, it is only the card reader that will be used for the elections that day.

“There won’t be manual reading. We won’t also use any manual way of reading or identifying voters.”

Meanwhile, a group known as Organised Ndokwa Effort, has charged electorates in the oil producing states to vote in the All Progressives Congress in the region so as to maximise the benefits of belonging to the governing party at the centre.

The organisation also congratulated President-elect, Maj. Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on his victory at the presidential election, noting that his emergence will usher in the much desired genuine improvement of the entire geographical sphere of Nigeria and a departure from a government which restricted benefits to only the few elected, their immediate families, friends and cronies

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