Ad hoc Staff to Swear Oath of Neutrality, Says INEC

*Commences training of supervisory presiding officers

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that all ad hoc staff engaged to assist the commission in conducting the forthcoming general election shall swear to an oath of neutrality before being deployed.

Chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this while inspecting ongoing training for Supervisory Presiding Officers yesterday.

Yakubu said they owed allegiance to the Nigerian people and not to any political party or candidate in the election, hence the need for them to be neutral.

He told them that while the commission was determined to conduct one of the best elections in the nation’s history, the integrity of the polling officers would have positive or negative effect on the elections.

He said the adhoc staff were carefully selected for the exercise, adding that no electoral officer across the world conducts elections on the basis of its staff alone.

While commending them for agreeing to serve as supervisory presiding officers, Yakubu said “you are going to supervise the Presiding Officers who are actually going to conduct the elections in all the polling units for Nigeria.

“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 is to the people of Nigeria and not anybody.”

He warned them that INEC is not a political party and has no candidate in the elections.

Yakubu also told journalists that 352 ad hoc staff were being trained in the FCT to serve as Supervisory Presiding Officers, out of which, 282 will be deployed for election duty.

He added: “What is happening in the FCT is happening in the 36 states of the Federation. This is a further assurance to Nigerians of the readiness of the commission to conduct the elections as planned the staff to be deployed to conduct the election are being trained nationwide.

“We will make sure that the process is what we say it should be so that the choice made by Nigerians determines who becomes what at whatever level”