Bauchi State Independent Electoral Commission (BASIEC) has disclosed that it has started the process of recruiting not fewer than 16,000 ad-hoc staff for the conduct of the forthcoming local government elections.
The disclosure was made by the Chairman of the Commission, Alhaji Ahmad Makama while briefing Journalists on the preparations so far made for the conduct of the elections which will hold on Saturday, 17th August, 2024.
According to him, immediately after the completion of the recruitment exercise, those recruited will be trained after which they will be deployed to all the polling stations across the state.
He assured that the Commission will conduct a free, fair and acceptable elections that will be worthy of emulation by all across the country considering the preparedness of the Commission.
The BASIEC Chairman also said that the Commission has met with security agencies and established an Electoral Security Committee which will oversee the smooth conduct of the elections.
He also stated that the Commission has been engaging all political stakeholders to ensure that nobody is left behind in the preparation and eventual conduct of the elections.
Makama further corrected what he described as erroneous, the impression that the Commission will not be fair to the political parties other than the PDP which is in power in the state saying that, “The Commission will remain an unbiased umpire throughout the process, we will be fair and just to all the participants.”
He stressed that the Commission will rely on the voters register from INEC but said that BVAS card readers will not be used because according to him, state governments are not buoyant enough to procure the machines but hope that with time it will be done.
He appealed to all the stakeholders to play the roles expected of them to ensure that the elections succeded just as he urged youths to eschew violence by not allowing themselves to be used to disrupt the electoral processes.
On announcement of results, he said no result will be brought to Bauchi but will be announced at the various centres saying, “Chairmanship results will be declared at the LGA headquarters while that of councillors will be announced at the wards headquarters.”
The BASIEC Chairman then solicited for the cooperation and support of journalists by reporting the process adequately so that people will understand what is happening.
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