By Promise Eze
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has allayed the fears of Nigerians over the forthcoming 2023 general elections, insisting that the polls will hold as planned.
Sahara Reporters reported that the INEC National Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu said the elections will hold as scheduled, adding that no adjustment has been made to the timetable.
Yakubu made the vow on Wednesday while presenting the 2023 Voters Register to the leadership of the 18 political parties in the country.
His declaration was on the heels of the claim that security challenges in states across the country could frustrate the conduct of the elections.
He said: “The 2023 general elections will hold as scheduled. Any report to the contrary isn’t true.”
The voter register says there are 93,469,008 registered voters for the general elections – 44,414,846 females and 49,054,162 males.
According to the register, there are 37,060,399 young people between the ages of 18 and 34, representing 39.65 per cent of the total registered voters while elderly persons between the ages of 50 and 69 are 17,700,270, representing 18.94 per cent of the total registered voters.
Similarly, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in charge of Kwara State, Mallam Attahiru Madami, said the elections will hold while speaking at the 2023 annual lecture of the National League of Veteran Journalists (NALVEJ), Kwara state council in Ilorin.
He charged Nigerians to be responsible and avoid violence to ensure peaceful polls.
“INEC has assured that the election will be held despite the doubts by some Nigerians. Youths should be admonished to shun violence. Women should do that, especially mothers. We should all preach unity. Violence will take us nowhere,” he said.
