The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos State on Sunday, urged political parties to engage credible and trained party agents, assuring that votes would count in the 2023 general elections.
The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Lagos state, Mr Olusegun Agbaje told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the commission was not carried away by the euphoria of success recorded in the recent Ekiti and Osun elections, but rather working hard to deliver best elections in the state in 2023.
According to Agbaje, the same commission under the leadership of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu that conducted some of the off circle elections Nigerians are proud of, will also offer best elections in 2023.
He said: “It is important to also realise that INEC only conducts elections, INEC do not vote.
“It is the votes of the electorate that will be counted. All INEC does is to monitor the election.
“What we have seen now is better elections but we are looking for the best, and we assure Nigerians that by the Grace of God, with all the things that the commission has put in place, 2023 elections will be the best the country has ever had.
“In Lagos state, with the way we have been carrying along our political party leaders, various NGOs, CSOs and other groups in the state, even the media, we will deliver best elections.
“If every party has good party agents that will be at various polling units, I don’t see any reason why election results will be tampered with.”
He urged the stakeholders to always notify INEC if they observed anything capable of jeopardizing credible elections, saying the commission had vowed to give a level playing ground to all political parties and candidates in elections without interference.
“If you see things that are not proper and things that are not well done, bring our attention to it so that we can immediately do something and not wait until havoc has been done.
“All of us have roles to play including security agencies, and if all of us play our roles well the way it was played in the Osun election recently, definitely, we should expect to have the best elections than we have ever had in the country next year,” he said.
On election security, the REC said that the commission had a very good and robust partnership arrangement with security agencies under the aegis of Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
“We have decided that we are going to inaugurate it in Lagos state in October. By the time we start, it is going to be straight to election,” he added.
According to him, the commission is not relenting in making things difficult for anyone to manipulate the outcome of election or subvert the will of the people through the ballot.
“If you have a PVC that is not your own, you cannot vote.
“Now, if your fingerprint is not captured, we will use the same Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to check your face to ascertain ownership of the card.
“With all these measures, the commission is prepared to conduct one of the best elections ever in Nigeria in 2023,” Agbaje said.