Your votes will count, INEC tells electorate

Olanipekun denies asking people not to vote for candidate

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, yesterday assured the people that their votes would count in the Saturday election.He gave the assurance at a stakeholders’ meeting in Ado-Ekiti, which some governorship candidates and officials of their political parties attended.

He disclosed that INEC had made adequate arrangements for the delivering of personnel and materials to the polling units, adding that it had also trained the ad hoc staff that would conduct the poll.

“I wish to assure you that the choice of who becomes the next governor of Ekiti State is strictly in the hands of Ekiti people,” he said.He promised the people that INEC would not take any action that could be considered to be an advantage, or disadvantage of any of the political parties, or their candidates.

According to him, no election material would be tampered with, adding: “If anything, we have introduced additional safeguard measures of transparency to protect the integrity of our manual and electronic processes, as well as procedures.”Yakubu disclosed that three National Commissioners and five Resident Electoral Commissioners had been deployed in the state.

The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, also explained that it had put security barricade in place to check intrusion from the neighbouring states of Kogi, Osun, Ondo, Oyo and Kwara.

Meanwhile, eminent lawyer, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), has disclaimed a statement purportedly made by him telling the electorate who not to vote for. Responding to a trending statement on the social media, he said at no time did he issue any speech asking people not to vote for a particular candidate or political party in the poll.He dismissed the statement, “Falsely crediting to me what I never said, or what I could not have ever said, to the effect that I was asking people not to vote for a particular political party, because of future invasion of Ekiti State by herdsmen.”

Olanipekun declared that at no time or place did he make such a statement. He warned those who are using his name for whatever political objective to desist from it. He said: “While I, as a Nigerian, have a right to support or vote for any candidate of my choice in any election, I have always restrained myself from getting involved in the murky waters of partisan politics, or throwing my hat into the ring in the process.” “As a professional, my clients and clientele cut across all divides, whether in politics, banking, commerce, industry and, indeed, in criminal and civil matters generally.