The Independent National Electoral Commission on Wednesday said that the ballot papers for this month’s general elections were ready.

The spokesman for the INEC’s National Chairman, Kayode Idowu, made this known to The PUNCH just as feelers indicated that in Abuja that Thursday’s(today) Council of State meeting might be stormy.

The council, which consists of the President, the Vice President, all former Presidents and ex- Heads of State as well as all state governors, is expected to deliberate on the calls for the postponement of the elections.

Other members of the council are all former Chief Justices of Nigeria, the President of the Senate and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

One of the key responsibilities of the body is to advise the President in the exercise of his powers with respect to INEC, including the appointments of members of the commission.

The Presidency is believed to be favourably disposed to the postponement of the elections while the APC insists that the elections must hold as scheduled.

But while the Presidency and the APC were busy strategising on Wednesday evening on how to have an upper hand, Idowu told The PUNCH that INEC still stood by its timetable for the polls.

He said that apart from the ballot papers being ready, 65.5 per cent of the   Permanent Voter Cards had as of Monday been distributed to registered voters across the country.

He   said,   “We have distributed 48,098,000   which represents 65.5 per cent of the PVCs . We have also taken delivery of ballot papers for the elections.”

Asked to be specific on whether the elections would be postponed as being canvassed in some quarters, he replied,   “Has the commission issued any statement reneging on its earlier timetable?

“If we have not done that, that means nothing has changed.”

The PUNCH gathered on Wednesday night that the commission had commenced the movement of materials to states and local government areas ahead of the February 14 presidential and National Assembly elections.

Idowu, had in a statement   on Wednesday, refuted an earlier report by Reuters, claiming that the elections might be postponed if voter cards distribution   was too low.

He said that there was no reason for anyone to suggest that the exercise might be shifted because “the number of PVCs already collected rates highly in comparison to the level of voter turnout historically in Nigerian elections.”

He explained that a National Commissioner of INEC, Amina Zakari, gave a hint that the deadline for PVC collection might be further extended.

The statement read, “I write to refute your story in Reuters attributing National Commissioner of INEC, Zakari, as saying that the 2015 general elections may be delayed if the number of PVCs collected by voters is too low.

“I was at the Situation Room Dialogue with INEC in Abuja this (Wednesday) morning and I know that the commissioner spoke in regard to the February 8 deadline for the collection of PVCs, nothing about the schedule of the general elections.

“You said she spoke to you ‘on the sidelines’ of the event. Well, I have checked with the commissioner and she denied that the issue discussed was the schedule of the 2015 elections.

“You had during the question-and-answer session at the event asked about the notably low level of collection in some states and the implication for voter turnout, which the commission had missed out in her responses.

“Later ‘on the sidelines’ she explained to you that the number of PVCs already collected rates highly in comparison to the level of voter turnout historically in Nigerian elections.

“Still, she added, INEC has not completely foreclosed the possibility of granting a few days of extension in isolated cases of low percentage of collection after February 8.

“The inference you’ve made for the schedule of elections is entirely yours, and misrepresents the conversation that took place at the event this(Wednesday) morning.”

Our correspondents however gathered that former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the APC presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.),

http://continentalnewsng.com/politics/ballot-papers-ready-48-million-pvcs-distributed-says-inec/

The poll must hold!

Sai Buhari!