OVER 798 officials have been trained as election observers to assist the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in next year's poll.
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The Coordinator of the Swift Count 2011 project, Dr. Khudirat Sanni, disclosed this in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.
According to her, some national and international agencies, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Kingdom Department of International Development are funding the programme.
She explained that those officials would be deployed across all the 774 local governments to ensure every votes count and result released within 24 hours.
Mobile phones and other gadgets, she said, would be used for check list and data documentation for onward transmission to Abuja for immediate release of the results.
She said the officials would use empirical study and random survey of the polls in different areas to ensure accuracy and transparency of the process.
Special Adviser to Governor Godswill Akpabio on Political and Legislative Affairs, Jerry Akpan, thanked the team for partnering with other agencies to assist INEC in the conduct of the polls.
He said it was time for Nigeria to get it right to avoid unnecessary litigations after the poll and assured the team of a free and fair exercise in Akwa Ibom.
Akpabio, he said, has done enough to merit re-election, adding that his achievements in the last couple of years would speak for him.
798 independent monitors for polls (http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/news/23238.html)