•••SAYS CANNOT ENTRUST SENSITIVE MATERIALS TO CBN
•••TO COMBINE ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION OF RESULTS WITH MANUAL RECORDING
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has passed a ‘vote of No Confidence’ on the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Goodwin Emefiele, saying it may move sensitive election materials out of the coffers of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at the second quarterly meeting with the media.
Yakubu, while reacting to questions concerning the 2023 presidential ambition and the APC membership of the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, stressed that the Commission might be forced to find another arrangement for the handling of sensitive materials.
He said the CBN is responsible for the storage and movement of sensitive materials, adding that the Commission has never doubted the capacity of the CBN to discharge that responsibility.
“I understand the context in which the question is asked. But you should also understand the context in which events are unfolding. As we speak our director, litigation and prosecution is in court.
“There is a case in court. We have been invited to state our own side of the story. We usually refrain from talking about such issues because there are essentially subjudice.
“But we are already started talking about what alternatives are available to us in case we need to change the arrangement for the handling of sensitive materials.
“We have started thinking about it. We are aware of the situation. We will watch the situation. We still have nine months before the next general elections. Things may be addressed before then.
“I want to assure you that we will not jeopardize the conduct of the election by creating a misconception around the situation in the process,” Yakubu said.
According to him, the Commission would use both the manual and electronic module in the transmission of the 2023 elections results.
Yakubu stated that the provision of the electoral Act 2022, regarding the handling of results is still the use of manual method, adding that it involves the recording of results on forms and their delivery to various levels of collation until declaration and returns are made.
