The new resident electoral commissioner, REC, for Ekiti State, Prof. Ayo Salami on Wednesday resumed in Ado, the state capital.
According to the Ibadan-born pioneer vice-chancellor of the First Technical University, Tech-U, he is committed to a transparent elections, adding that he would build on the legacies of those who have been in the saddle before him.
THE PRESS CONFERENCE DELIVERED BY THE HON. RESIDENT ELECTORAL COMMISSIONER, INEC EKITI STATE, PROF. AYOBAMI SALAMI ON HIS ASSUMPTION OF DUTY AS THE RESIDENT ELECTORAL COMMISSIONER INEC EKITI STATE
ON 23RD, NOVEMBER 2022
PROTOCOLS
Good morning gentlemen of the press. You are welcome to my maiden press briefing since my appointment and assumption of duty as the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Ekiti state.
I am grateful to the happy Almighty God for the privilege to be appointed as the REC, Ekiti state. I see this appointment as a clarion call to serve the people of Ekiti state and Nigerians at large.
Let me appreciate the good people of Ekiti State and all the critical stakeholders in the electoral process for the cooperation and support enjoyed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Ekiti State, that culminated into success recorded in our previous electoral activities.
May I humbly request for a better cooperation, resilience, understanding and commitment of all the stakeholders in the electoral process in the state. This shall immensely assist us to achieve a higher feat in the subsequent electoral activities, especially the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
It is important to note that INEC has on 12th of November, 2022 commenced a nationwide display of Preliminary Register of Voters (PRV) for Claims and Objection, which shall end on 25th of November, 2022. Therefore, I want to use this medium to call on all registered voters to actively participate in the exercise, by physically visiting our local government offices or explore the privilege of participating in the exercise using the online link of www.inecnigeria.org/display_register. I also solicit the continuous support of the press in disseminating this information.
Preparatory to the forthcoming 2023 general elections in Ekiti state, let me state that INEC Ekiti State has 16 Local Government Areas, 177 Registration Areas and 2,445 Polling Units;with a total number of 988,923 registered voters out of which 754, 886 voters have collected their Permanent Voters Card (PVC), while 234,037 (representing about 24% of total) PVCs are yet to be collected.
In the same vein, INEC Ekiti state has received some non-sensitive election materials needed for the election in adequate quantities. However, I want to use this medium to assure the electorates and all stakeholders in Ekiti state that the 2023 general elections shall not only be free, fair and credible, but shall be conducted in strict adherence to the provisions of Electoral Act, 2022.
Let me assure you that the 2023 general elections shall also follow the same suit as the 2022 governorship election in the state, in the area of utilization of technology. I wish to reiterate that BVAS shall be used for accreditation, while the INEC Result Viewing (IREV) portal shall also be used to upload election results from the polling units.
Ladies and gentlemen, please be informed that the doors of my office are always open to members of the fourth estate of the realm, as a critical stakeholder in our bid to ensure that 2023 general election is a huge success. I therefore, urge you to please, take the pain of always verifying and clarifying any information before going to press.
On this note, I appreciate you all for coming.
God bless you ALL.
Professor Ayobami Salami
Resident Electoral Commissioner
INEC, Ekiti State
