Unauthorised results in circulation —Jega
•Says final collation of presidential election result begins 12 noon today•Demands for more security at INEC offices nationwide
•Confirms loss of 2 ad hoc staff to insurgency in Borno
•Says commission received petition from APC on Rivers crisis
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, on Sunday, warned against premature publication or announcement of election results by unauthorised persons and media channels, especially online sites.
Addressing a world press conference in Abuja, on Monday, to update the public on the conduct of Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections, Professor Jega declared that “only INEC is empowered by law to announce results.”
Jega, who distanced the commission from the various unauthorised elections results making the round in the country since the end of the two elections warned that “it is an offence for anyone to pre-empt the commission in this regard.”
According to him, “as we speak, only two states have actually finished their collation for the presidential election, collation at the state levels are in progress and have reached different stages of completion. When we are to start the national collation, all the stakeholders will be duly informed and the media will also be present.
“The results will be announced at the state levels after the collation and the collation officer will then scan them to us at the headquarters and come with the original copy, as without the original copy, we cannot start any collation.
“The collation officer at the state level will read out the results and hand it over to the returning officer, who will take and record it for processing.”
He assured that by last night, the original results of the presidential election from the states of the federation had been arriving Abuja for the commencement of the collation and the eventual announcement of the final results and declaration of the winner of the election.
Jega insisted that the final result would be made public within 48 hours after the polls end nationwide.
He disclosed that because of the challenges faced on Saturday, elections were rescheduled in certain polling units in the country for Sunday.
The affected polling units were “Lagos State-90 polling units, Kebbi State-16, Adamawa State 25, Niger State-6, Yobe State-37, Borno State-8, Jigawa State-37, Kano State-13, Taraba State-116 and FCT-2.”
Jega also confirmed that the commission lost two of its ad hoc to the insurgency in Borno State and that the commission would do everything possible to compensate the families of the deceased.
Jega said the commission had also received several complaints and allegations against the conduct of last Saturday’s polls, including a petition from the All Progressives Congress (APC), calling for the formal cancellation of the Rivers State’s election, based on alleged irregularities.
He, however, assured that all the complaints and allegations would be thoroughly investigated before the final decision was made.
On the burnt office of the commission in Rivers State, Jega said the matter had been reported to the police and the commission would demand for more security at its offices nationwide ahead next week’s polls.
While commending voters for the peaceful manner they conducted themselves during last Saturday’s polls, Jega who solicited for more cooperation from all stakeholders assured that the commission would deliver free, fair amd credible elections.
Meanwhile, the final collation of presidential election results will begin by 12 noon today at the National Collation Centre located at International Conference Centre, Abuja
Already, security in and around the ICC building located at Area 11, adjacent the Radio House, have been beefed up ahead the exercise.
