[attachimg=1] As part of its efforts to deliver free, fair and credible elections, commencing on Saturday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is to administer "oath of neutrality" on its staff, especially the ad-hoc staff comprising mainly members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and federal civil servants.
Besides, the Commission has empowered its Presiding Officers to cancel, on the spot, inflated or fraudulent votes.
Complementarily, INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has countered a directive reportedly issued by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Hafiz Ringim; that voters should not stay behind to observe the counting, collation and declaration of results at the polling stations.
The Residence Electoral Commission (REC) in Edo State, Dr. Rose Obuoforibo, conveyed INEC's position on neutrality at the elections.
Mrs. Obuoforibo told The Guardian in Benin City that "the commission wants free, fair and credible election and we are optimistic it will be credible this time."
"INEC is going to play a neutral role; it will do the right thing by making sure that they are unbiased. And any INEC official that connives with anybody to manipulate the process will face the full wrath of the law," she said.
Quoting Prof. Jega, the REC said that, "as many as want to violate the very law they have sworn to uphold, the INEC will purge itself so those INEC officials, who want to still be part of the corruption, will face the music."
She added: "To ensure neutrality of its officials, the commission is going to give oath of neutrality to all ad-hoc staff and that anyone found misbehaving would face the full wrath of law."
Mrs. Obuoforibo pledged that the politically volatile Ed State would, for once, have an election that many would see as "free, fair and credible."
Speaking at a stakeholders' meeting in Abuja during the week on accreditation of all voters before the actual voting, Jega warned that INEC would cancel on the spot any election whose figure outweighs the number of accredited voters.
To him, "such outcomes would have been under serious questions, or there would have been fraud."
"Consequently, the law empowers the Presiding Officers to take action immediately such irregularities are discovered," he said.
Jega denied the report that the commission gave a directive to law enforcement agencies to ensure that voters maintain a 300-metre distance after casting their votes and that electronic gadgets should not be brought to the polling areas.
Saying the directive could not have emanated from the commission, he explained that voters could stay behind after voting, "provided they are calm and peaceful."
He warned that, "anybody who tries to be rowdy or cause confusion can be picked from the voting area by the law enforcement agencies."
As for coming to the polling units with electronic gadgets, he said, "after all, we are expected to be at the polling units with our electronic gadgets."
Apparently modifying the said directive by the police on Friday, the Inspector General of Police said voters could "stay at a reasonable distance from the voting centre" while the votes are being sorted and declared.
He said this was part of the efforts by the police to keep the peace during the elections.
At a meeting with DIGs, AIGs and Compol, the IGP warned that the police would not allow anyone at the polling stations after voting.
He said: "First of all, I want to assure all Nigerians that every vote will count. (But) we will not allow you to vote, stay around and cause problems.
"However, anyone that votes and wants to ensure that the votes are not tampered with is allowed to stay at a reasonable distance from the voting centre, so that he or she does not constitute a threat.
"We will not allow you to vote, stay around and cause problems."
He that in the build-up to the elections, "the police had faced major security situations with events that posed serious threat to national security.
"We have done our best in those situations and we hope to do our best in the proper election exercise."
The IGP, however, cautioned his men against partisanship in the course of the elections, as the Force would not tolerate any unpatriotic act from its police/security personnel.
Source: INEC Administers Oath Of Neutrality On Staff (http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=42902:inec-administers-oath-of-neutrality-on-staff&catid=1:national&Itemid=559)