I Will Personally Handle Presidential Election Results Collation- Yakubu

As part of it efforts to ensure transparency and build confidence in the February 16 presidential election, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has vowed to solely man the result collation centre, stressing that he will not share his constitutional responsibility as the chairman of the collation secretariat with anybody.

The INEC boss was also said to have raised the alarm over what he described as the increasing violence tendencies by politicians and youths who could be used by politicians to carry out nefarious activities, saying that the elections might be disrupted if the security agencies refuse or fail to carry out their jobs, in line with INEC’s specifications.

This is coming as the electoral body has also decided to allow members of the accredited civil society groups, local/international election observers and the media access to its Situation Room.


The Situation Room is a centre where all results from all states for the presidential election are counted and collated before they are finally announced.

The room is unique to INEC; it is its internal control mechanism and the core activity of the commission, which is not usually open to outsiders.

Thisday also gathered from a senior INEC’s official that Yakubu, has vowed not to share his constitutional responsibility as the chairman of the results collation secretariat with anybody.

“We have decided to open up the Situation Room for members of the civil society groups, party’s members, local/international election observers and the media. But they would have to be accredited. The greatest thing for us is that the process is opened,” the senior INEC officer stated.