Only your votes will determine outcome of 2019 elections, says Yakubu

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, has assured Nigerians that only their votes would determine the outcome of next year’s general elections and subsequent polls.

Yakubu gave the assurance at the 15th edition of the Daily Trust Dialogue, with the theme: ‘Nigeria and the challenges of 2019,” held in Abuja late Thursday.

Represented by National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Prince Solomon Soyebi, the INEC boss noted that there had been a lot of improvement in the electoral process since the current commission came on board.

He said the commission was not unmindful of the enormous responsibility of conducting elections in the largest presidential democracy in Africa and second only to that of the United States in terms registered voters.

Yakubu disclosed that as at last week, the commission had 74 million registered voters, hinting that by projection, the figure could hit between 80 and 85 million by next year due to the ongoing nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.

Responding to a concern raised by one of the speakers, Kate Henshaw (a Nollywood star and politician), in her presentation about youth participation in the electoral process, Yakubu said: “Women, youth, People Living with Disabilities (PLWDs) and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have always been at the fulcrum of the commission’s plans.”

He assured that INEC would continue to engage with all stakeholders to ensure an all-inclusive process, reiterating the commission’s resolve to adhere strictly to the timelines provided in the recently released timetable and schedule of activities for next year’s general elections.