Election materials ready, says INEC

INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega

•Jega, IG for Benin today

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday said voting materials for Saturday’s Edo State governorship election are ready.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Kassim Gaidam, said INEC Chairman Prof Attahiru Jega and the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, are expected in Benin today.

Jega will address electoral officers and their assistants and attend a stakeholders’ meeting with Abubakar.

Gaidam said security arrangements are in place to ensure the safety of voters, electoral officers and materials.

His words: “The non-sensitive materials are in the local governments. They  have been distributed to all the councils.

“The sensitive materials are also ready. They are with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). 

“You know there are procedures for moving those things. Their movement will start, I think, on Thursday.

“We are going to deploy them from CBN to our office  on Thursday where the distribution will take place.”

According to him, new measures have been adopted to check rigging.

He said a Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) has been assigned to Edo for the election.

The REC said: “We are very happy with the planning. The planning has been very, very successful. 

“What is happening now is action. All arrangements for the engagement of ad-hoc workers are almost concluded.

“We have the ad-hoc workers that we need for all the 18 local governments. We have got enough so far.

“We have trained them, and we are now deploying them to the local governments, both the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and other ad-hoc workers.

“Also, the Supervisory Presiding Officers (SPOs) have been engaged and trained as well. We have also engaged the collation officers. That will be concluded today.

“All the vehicles that will transport materials to various local governments are here. The challenge of late arrival of men and materials will be reduced.

“Each local government is going to have three vehicles rather than the two that were initially slated.

“Electoral officers have been coming to collect their letters of engagement. 

“And as they leave, they are leaving with the vehicles to start arrangements, such as sorting out the issue of deployment of their ad-hoc workers and other issues directly under them.

“Today, INEC chairman is going to be here and he is going to address all the electoral officers and assistant electoral officers.

“We are going to hold a stakeholders’ meeting. The IG will also attend, because security is very paramount.

“We want to make sure that the voters, our ad-hoc  workers, the corps members and the students – that everybody is safe.”

To prevent rigging, Gaidam said, the number of election monitors was increased. Each local government will be manned by either a national commissioner or a REC from another state.