Bayelsa Governorship Poll: We Will Not Tolerate Any Attack On Our Personnel – INEC Chairman

• INEC will be concluding Brass II State Constituency Election in Brass Local Government Area (LGA) on the same day.
• Yakubu commends the traditional rulers for their continuous support to INEC.

The chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has warned that it would not accept any form of attack on its personnel, ad hoc staff or materials to be deployed for the Bayelsa November 16, governorship election.

The INEC Chairman gave the warning in Yenegoa, Bayelsa capital during the commission’s interactive session with the members of the Bayelsa Traditional Rulers Council.

According to the chief electoral officer, in addition to the governorship election in Bayelsa, INEC would be concluding Brass II State Constituency Election in Brass Local Government Area (LGA) on the same day.

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While warning that the commission would not tolerate the issue of vote-buying, Prof Yakubu said that as an honest broker, INEC was committed to conducting a free, fair, credible, conclusive and acceptable election in Bayelsa.

While noting that the electoral agency was ready for a credible election, he said the attitude of the political class remained a source of concern to the commission.

He also expressed concern about utterances likely to breach peace during the campaign, on election day and during the collation of results.

“Let me remind the candidates that the commission working with the security will not accept an attack on your children, the people we will engage on election day.

“We are concerned on the mobilisation of armed persons to the voting and collation centres as we experienced in previous elections,” he said.

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Yakubu also commended the traditional rulers for their continuous support to INEC including the mobilisation of their subjects to register and collect their permanent voter cards as well as advocacy for peaceful elections. He urged them to continue with the advocacy for a peaceful election.