LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has responded to the party agents’ repeated concerns by asserting that every statistics released stems from what happened at the polling places.
The party representatives voiced their complaints over the results during the collation of votes at the National Coalition Center in Abuja.
The overall number of votes cast did not equal the total number of eligible voters, they claimed, hence the outcome did not match what was recorded in polling places.
The failure of the IReV site for the electronic transmission of results and the use of the BVAS machine to upload election results were reportedly the objections made by party agents.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) agent, Senator Dino Melaye, one of the complainants, stated that with the failure to present the States’ results as uploaded on the BVAS machine, the goal of the BVAS initiative has not been accomplished.
He said: “We should make sure these results being announced are what are uploaded on the BVAS machine as that is the purpose, this BVAS initiative was funded with tax payers money and it would be a waste of our money if it is not utilized, we are not wasteful.”
INEC Chairman, in his address, stated that every result declared is as received from poling units, coalited by states collation officer and officially declared.
He said: “There was no over-voting. Are the figures consistent from what transpired at the polling unit? I am Satisfied that the figures emanated from what transpired at the poling units.
“We have provided the votes scored by the political parties. However, if figures seem to be inconsistent with the ones provided on the spreadsheet, the info should be forwarded to the commission so we can work on the basis of fact.”
Yakubu further urged all complainants to file a formal complaint with the commission in order to receive the results and to avoid interfering in any way with the announcement of the results. He also demanded that they refrain from interfering with the announcement of the results.