The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has tasked media organisations on professionalism and mobilisation of eligible voters for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area council elections scheduled for February 21.

Mohammed Haruna, the national commissioner and chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at a forum for media executives, producers, and reporters.

Mr Haruna, the supervising national commissioner for the FCT, advised journalists to study electoral laws and adhere strictly to the media code of conduct for election coverage.

“Your coverage of the elections should be informed by a grasp of the country’s constitution, electoral law and the commission’s rules and guidelines, which have the force of law.

“Of equal importance to your knowledge of these documents, if not even more, is the integrity and professionalism which you bring to bear on your coverage of elections.

“We all have our prejudices and biases, but we must never allow these to get in the way of being fair and objective in our conduct.

“Your knowledge of elections will therefore be of no use if you do not subscribe and adhere to your code of conduct for election coverage,” Mr Haruna said.

Regarding the commission’s preparations, Mr Haruna said INEC was “on course,” having successfully completed 10 of 13 key scheduled activities for the election.

He listed the three outstanding activities as the publication of the notice of poll on February 7, the end of political campaigns on February 19 and the election day on February 21.

“We have acquired virtually all the non-sensitive materials required for the election and batched them according to the six area councils, 62 wards and 2,822 polling units in the territory, in readiness for the election.

“We are also on course to print the sensitive materials, namely: ballot papers and result sheets, possibly ahead of time,” Mr Haruna said.

He noted that the commission will take delivery of the sensitive materials in the presence of party agents, the media, civil society organisations and security personnel.

“It will be delivered from the FCT branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Wednesday, February 18, for subsequent distribution to the six area council offices, in readiness for the opening of polls at 8:30 a.m. on February 21,” he added.

Mr Haruna added that Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines were being configured for deployment.

He pledged the commission’s commitment to leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the council election was free, fair and credible.

The INEC commissioner reminded journalists that the INEC portal for media accreditation would close on February 8, urging interested organisations yet to register to do so.

In his remarks, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for FCT, Aminu Idris, reiterated the commission’s commitment to a transparent and inclusive election.

Mr Idris disclosed that the commission had approved Danbaki Titus as the replacement candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Igu ward, Bwari Area Council, following the death of the initial candidate, Zachariah Danbaki.

He also announced that a mock accreditation exercise would be conducted in 289 selected polling units across the six area councils to test the technology for the poll. He said the FCT currently has 1,680,315 registered voters.

Mr Idris said the commission had approved the decongestion of large registration area centres (RACs) in Dutse Alhaji, Kubwa, Gwarinpa, and Kabusa wards.

He, however, noted that elections would not be held in four polling units—three in Garki ward and one in Jiwa ward—as they had no registered voters.

In her goodwill message, the chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FCT council, Grace Ike, urged journalists to prioritise accuracy, professionalism and safety during the area council election.

Ms Ike called on INEC, security agencies, political parties, and their supporters to respect the media and guarantee the safety of journalists and their equipment before, during, and after the election.

(NAN)