Amid assurances of a hitch- free National Assembly polls today by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigerian voters will once again file out to determine the fate of members of the National Assembly who had won the tickets of their respective political parties.

The attention of electorate in the country would be focussed on the principal officials of the National Assembly, most especially the Senate President, Senator David Mark and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Dimeji Bankole, both of who have been angling to retain their seats in the next legislative session, all things being equal.

Mark and Bankole had relocated from Abuja to Oturkpo in Benue State and Abeokuta in Ogun State respectively since the past two weeks for the purpose of monitoring the process and ensuring their victories at the polls.

The INEC chairman, Professor Atahiru Jega, had on Thursday assured Nigerians that INEC had shaken off the trauma of the National Assembly elections it postponed last Saturday as he made emphatic remarks that the problems of logistics which necessitated the postponement had been overcome.

Jega, however, reiterated his call on underage to stay off polling units across the federation, just as he called on parents, family elders, community leaders, traditional rulers and clerics to ensure that underage do not file out for voting owing to the dire consequences.

He said INEC had instructed all security agencies to be on the look out for minors who in the past were allowed the chances of voting with a view to apprehending them whereever they were found.

INEC said it had expunged names of voters who registered twice from the voter register, a reason it said some voters would present voters card at the polling units without finding their names on the register.

It advised such category of voters to also stay off polling units to avoid being arrested, just as it explained that whoever engaged in double registration, but have voters cards and their names omitted in the register, would be allowed to vote provided their names appear on the manual register.

The apex electoral body had deployed its top staff to different states of the federation where each of them would supervise the elections, just as the commission said all the electoral materials had reached their different destinations as of the close of work on Friday.

Meanwhile, Jega has warned against late arrival of materials to voting centres in the country, stating that such would be counter productive to the intent of INEC to conduct a credible election, as he also warned its officials never to get late to their areas of assignment.

He said on the average, imbibing positive attitude into the exercise has far greater tendency of bringing credibility and integrity into the electoral system in the country, the commission having been tested and found to have overcome all its challenges.

He reiterated INEC’s standpoint on following the terms of constitution on the issue of open secret ballot system as he affirmed that voters should be vigilant in the process of voting to prevent snatching of ballot boxes.