Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Joash Amupitan, has warned politicians and voters against vote buying ahead of Saturday’s Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum in Abuja, Amupitan assured residents of a peaceful, transparent and credible election.
He said over 1.68 million registered voters will cast ballots across 2,822 polling units in the six Area Councils.
INEC disclosed that 570 candidates are contesting 68 positions, including Chairmanship, Vice-Chairmanship and Councillorship seats.
The Commission confirmed that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will be deployed nationwide, with results uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
PVC collection ended on February 10, with more than 106,000 cards collected, showing strong voter participation.
INEC also accredited 89 observer groups and 700 journalists to monitor the poll.
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To ensure smooth operations, over 1,100 vehicles, 620 motorcycles and 14 boats have been secured for election logistics.
Amupitan stressed that INEC has no preferred party or candidate and warned that vote trading would attract arrests.
He revealed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission will deploy officers to arrest offenders.
“Vote buying undermines democracy and will not be tolerated,” he said.
Security agencies assured voters of massive deployment across polling units and flashpoints to guarantee safety on Election Day.
