The Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC) has said that it will employ the use of the Card Readers used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the last general election. The commission also disclosed that the machinery for the conduct of the January 16 local government elections in the 25 local government councils in the state have been put in place. Disclosing this to reporters in Minna, the state capital, its Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Ali, said about 14,000 staff and 3,185 ad-hoc staff are being trained to operate the card readers.
According to Ali, the INEC is assisting the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC) with the voters register, ballot boxes and some technical staff. He added that NSIEC had already installed its own server to ensure adequate storage of information. He said: “I can inform you that we are the first state electoral commission to install a server for the purpose of election.”
Ali assured the political parties and their candidates that the commission will be fair and transparent in the conduct of the election. He also urged the electorate to ensure that lawlessness, thuggery and ballot box snatching, are avoided before, during and after the election.
The poll was earlier scheduled for November 7 last year, but it was shifted for what the NSIEC described as logistic reasons.
Full Article: Niger ready for local govt polls – The Nation Nigeria.
