By Ibrahim Kado
#TrackNigeria: The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Gombe state has warned the 250 Supervisory Presiding Officers (SPOs) in the state, against partisan politics during the forthcoming general elections.
Alhaji Umar Ibrahim, Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), gave the advice during an inspection visit to the officers during their training in Gombe on Thursday.
He said the commission was an independent umpire, hence, the need for all its officers to be nonpartisan toward ensuring free, fair and credible elections.
Ibrahim also advised the officials to adhere strictly to the commission’s guidelines for a successful exercise.
“You have to be nonpartisan, you are Nigerians, you have every right to belong to any political party but as long as you are working with us, you have to be nonpartisan.
“You have to understand that, the success of this elections lays on your conduct and you should also ensure that the election start at the correct time,” he said.
The REC told newsmen that the SPOs had the responsibility to supervise all the polling units across the 11 local government areas of the state, adding that they were drawn from Federal tertiary institutions in the state, including the INEC staff.
According to him, the next training will be for the security personnel to be cascaded down to the senatorial zone followed by the training of other ad-hoc staff.
Ibrahim promised that the commission would conduct credible elections with a lot of improvement without any bias, adding that it would give each political party a level playing field.(NAN)
