The Independent Electoral Commission on Thursday announced that it had deployed 2,822 Biometric Voters Accreditation System for the Federal Capital Territory February 12 council elections.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that 1,373,492 registered voters are expected to participate in the elections for Chairmen and Councillors in 2,229 polling units .
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman, INEC, at the distribution of sensitive materials to the area councils, said that 12,000 ad hoc staff had also been deployed for the elections.
Yakubu said that the sensitive materials were collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria and brought to INEC FCT office for distribution to the area councils
He said: “The materials were received from CBN and are being taken to the area councils starting with the farthest, Abaji, kwali to Gwagwalada area of FCT.
“There are six area councils Abaji, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Kwali and Abuja Municipal Area Council.”
Yakubu explained to foreign observers that although the election was a local government one and not so big, but the area councils were large areas that could amount to a country.
He said: “One area council alone like AMAC is almost the size of Guinea-Bissau in Africa, so we still had to do some serious work.
“However, we have taken adequate care and decongested some polling units for the elections and we hope that the political parties have mobilised, so that there would be high voter turnout.
INEC’s National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, said that the deployment of the sensitive materials was being observed by representatives of political parties, civil society groups and the media.
