INEC Ad-hoc staff to swear oath of neutrality, Yakubu says

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmoud Yakubu, has revealed that ad-hoc staff recruited for the conduct of the 2023 general elections will have to swear an oath of neutrality before they will partake in the job.

Yakubu, who made this known on Saturday while inspecting ongoing training for Supervisory Presiding Officers in Abuja, said the Commission’s focus on conducting one of the best elections in Nigerian history, is desirous of ensuring the integrity of polling officers which will have a significant impact on election outcomes, whether positive or negative.

He insisted that to achieve the aims set out by President Muhammadu Buhari in the upcoming elections, INEC must ensure that its ad-hoc staff owe no allegiance to any political party or candidate, but rather to the citizens, and must thus remain neutral.

“You are going to supervise the Presiding Officers who are actually going to conduct the elections in all the polling units for Nigeria,” he said, while addressing the trainees.

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“It is important to bear in mind your commitment to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and what counts most is your integrity as Presiding Supervisory Officers.

“You have been carefully selected by the commission to perform a very important responsibility for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“You are doing this for Nigeria and you are going to swear to an oath of neutrality. Your loyalty is to Nigeria, your allegiance is to the people of Nigeria and not anybody,” he added.

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