By ADEYEMI ADELEYE

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will ensure that votes count in the forthcoming February Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council and August Osun governorship elections.

The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) for Osun, Dr. Mutiu Agboke, and his counterpart in the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Aminu Idris, gave the commitment at the commission’s 2026 Induction and Strategic Retreat.

The event was organised for INEC newly appointed National Chairman, Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the event, Agboke assured residents of Osun of strict adherence to the rule of law to ensure transparent and credible polls.

“The determination of INEC in the coming election is to ensure that people’s votes count.

“The chairman was clear about the rule of law and people’s votes. In our state, there is not going to be any exception.

“We are going to do our best.

“We are going to ensure that people follow the process and their votes count,” Agboke said.

According to him, the commission is prepared to reaffirm people’s confidence in INEC, having taken lessons from the recently conducted Anambra governorship election.

He said the state would also take lessons from the February FCT Area Council polls and the forthcoming Ekiti governorship election.

Agboke said that the engagement and re-engagement of stakeholders remained vital, adding that the commission would not stop enlightening stakeholders on the need for violence-free elections.

“And we have been doing it in Osun; we organise stakeholders’ engagement quarterly.

“We carry the message to them. They understand what we are doing. That is why Osun didn’t record any issue after party primaries conducted recently; no issue came out of it.

“The stakeholders listened to what we told them, and the atmosphere was very peaceful,” he said.

Agboke, however, listed vote-buying and violence as the greatest challenges facing elections, calling on all stakeholders to join hands to address them.

He said: “We also need to let them (stakeholders) understand the fact that the cankerworm that is bedevilling the activities of the commission are just two majorly: vote-buying and violence.

“INEC has no money to distribute on election day. INEC does not have weapons to give to anybody on election day.

“We should talk to ourselves. In talking to ourselves, the publicity or the engagement against these must be vociferous.

“INEC should not be the only one talking about these, also the issue of voter apathy.

“What are political parties and their publicity secretaries doing about the lukewarm attitude of people towards elections?”

He urged political parties and their spokespersons to talk more vigorously about voter apathy and engage more with the electorate.

“The important thing, particularly when an election is coming like this, is assurance, reassurance and the confidence of the people to buy into the election,” he said.

Agboke said that people must change the narrative that “nothing good can come from INEC.”

“No, it’s not correct,” he said.

Also speaking, Idris told NAN that the commission was fully prepared to conduct free, fair and credible Area Council elections in the FCT on Feb. 21.

“Before the commencement of the process, the commission released a timetable and schedule of activities. I can tell you now that we have implemented almost all the activities, almost awaiting election day.

“The most important thing coming up in the next one week or so is the release of copies of the register to political parties and the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs),” the FCT REC said.

He said that PVCs of those who registered during the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), as well as old uncollected PVCs, would be available for collection from Jan. 15.

On expectations, Idris said that INEC remained optimistic that voters would troop out en masse to exercise their franchise at the polls.

“Our expectation is that people will come out, the voters will turn out higher than they did in the last FCT election, and that the election will be conducted peacefully.”

Idris said that the retreat served as a reminder of INEC’s strategic objectives of conducting peaceful and credible elections.

NAN reports that the event was attended by senior officials from across the 36 states and the FCT. (NAN)

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