The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Mahmood Yakubu has called on Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) to shun having meetings with politicians, reaffirming that only votes by citizens will determine winners in the 2023 election.
Newsonline reports that INEC chairman, Yakubu said the loyalty of the commission is to the Nigerian people and not to any politician.
Yakubu Mahmood who stated this in Abuja on Thursday at the swearing-in of 19 new Resident Electoral Commissioners reminded the new RECs that nothing else but the vote of the citizens will be the decider for winners in the 2023 election.
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The INEC chairman also called on the new REC to maintain political neutrality and not to compromise the commission’s integrity.
In his words, “Our loyalty is to Nigeria and our allegiance is to Nigerians. Only their votes should determine winners in the 2023 General Election. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Yakubu added: “You should not be visitors to Government Houses and must never hold unofficial meetings with politicians, even after official working hours. Do not compromise the neutrality of the Commission.”