Chairman of The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu says solutions have been found to the perceived obstacles to the general elections set to commence on February 25 and assures the elections will take place as scheduled.
Speaking to state house reporters after briefing the Federal Executive Council, FEC, Yakubu said the commission has already sorted out the initial challenges posed by the scarcity of cash and petrol.
He added that the Commission will on Friday brief the Council of State on its preparedness towards conducting a transparent election.
“So we took members of Council through all the preparations that we have put in place for the election and the few challenges that we are facing and the steps that we have taken to address those challenges.
“I can tell you two of these challenges quickly. The first one is availability of petroleum products. We had a meeting with the National Union of Road Transport Workers and they raised that as an issue of concern. Immediately after that meeting, we interfaced with the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and right now, there is a technical committee, working.
“The idea is for them to avail us the use of their over 900 land mega stations as well as floating mega stations nationwide, for the purpose of stocking products to ensure that the Commission doesn’t suffer any encumbrances in movement of personnel and materials for the election.
Recall that various stakeholders had expressed concerns over the capacity of INEC to conduct a free, fair and credible election in the midst of lingering fuel scarcity as well as the cash crunch occasioned by the redesigned of naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, which has triggered protests in some parts of the country.
