Eligible residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are to vote in sixty two Councilors and six Chairpersons in the elections scheduled for Saturday, 9th April 2016.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said it has registered 1,020,799 voters across the six Area Councils and as at last Tuesday, 646,883 of them have collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). Only eligible voters who present their PVCs will be allowed to vote in the elections.
As a prelude to the election, the Commission has trained 10,000 staff drawn largely from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and Tertiary Institutions. It also yesterday (Thursday, 7th April 2016) briefed forty four (44) groups accredited to observe the elections.
In the course of tomorrow’s election, accreditation and voting shall be continuous/simultaneous and the Polling Units will open from 8.00 a.m. – 2.00 p.m.
The FCT has sixty two Wards and 562 Polling Units (PUs). However, to decongest existing PUs, the Commission has created additional 2,207 Voting Points (VP) and another 246 Voting Point Settlements (VPS) to cater for remote and far flung areas.
As part of its determination to conduct a smooth, seamless and transparent election, the Commission began distributing sensitive materials (ballot papers and result sheets) in the full glare of stakeholders yesterday. To perfect preparations for the elections, the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, with National Commissioners and Directors, will this afternoon visit some Super RACs – (Registration Area Centres). He will also, tomorrow, monitor the election in the field before he retires to the Situation Room at the INEC Headquarters where he will monitor the elections until returns are made.
The Commission has activated its Citizens Contact Centre to receive complaints in the field tomorrow and respond to them through these channels facebook: www.facebook.com/inecnigeria; Twitter: www.twitter.com/inecnigeria; e-mail: iccc@inec.gov.ng; Website: www.inecnigeria.org; and Instagram: @inecnigeria and the following Hotlines: 09050858620, 09050858675, 09050858649, 08180958715, 08180958717. 08180958709, 09025038466, 07086945927, 08120183063, 07062896047, 08105119010, 08146697603, 07098115257, 07098117563, 07098110916, 07098116381.
