Two million registered voters are anticipated to cast ballots in the off-cycle Kogi governorship election on Saturday, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Throughout the state’s 21 Local Government Areas (LGAs), 3,508 polling places will be used for the election.
Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ankpa, Bassa, Dekina, Ibaji, Idah, Igalamela/Odolu, Ijumu, Kabba-Bunu, Kogi, Lokoja, Mopamuro, Ofu, Ogori-Magongo, Okene, Okehi, Olamaboro, Omala, Yagba-East, and Yagba-West were among the LGAs comprising of these entities.
Dr. Gabriel Longpet, the state’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), stated that the commission was fully prepared for the election.
According to Longpet, the commission has over 15,000 ad hoc workers on board to assist with the seamless running of the election.
“In addition to the security guards stationed to guarantee a peaceful election, each of the 3,508 polling places will be staffed by four ad hoc workers.”
“To supplement those we are going to use, we shall deploy additional staff and BVAS in densely populated polling units.”More than 900 backup BVAS will be used, to be exact.
“We have to divide the number by adding more voting sites for convenient voting because certain polling units have more than 1,000 or 2,000 registered voters.
This becomes essential since we don’t want to allow anything to cause the process to drag on.
“We’ll provide another one and configure it to that polling unit for smooth voting continuation as soon as there is a report of any BVAS failure or challenge,” he stated.
According to Longpet, the BVAS has been sent to all 21 local government units in the state in preparation for the election.
To guarantee a peaceful election, more than 40,000 police officers would be stationed around the state, according to State Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr. Bethrand Onuoha.
According to Onuoha, the state’s history of violent election results was the reason for the anticipated mass deployment of troops.
Presently, despite recent events informing us that the entire Kogi region is a flashpoint, we have identified a few security flashpoints for increased surveillance.
“You can tell the state requires extra security checks based on the amount of security people we are deploying for this election.
With sufficient security in place in Kogi, we are urging everyone to cast a ballot in the Saturday governorship election in order to exercise their civic rights.
“We intend to flood the state with sufficient security guards, and with God’s special grace, we will befuddle our critics with our deeds and consequences,” he declared.
“It seems to me that this election will surpass all previous elections that have taken place in Kogi,” Onuoha continued.
“We came here to serve the people, not any specific individual, so we have instructed our personnel to be fair to everybody.”
The CP asked politicians to follow the rules of the game, pointing out that while elections would come and go, people would always be around.
“We expect them to enter politics without resentment. Regardless of his political affiliation, your brother is still your brother, he declared.
Troublemakers, particularly political thugs, were cautioned by Onuoha not to do anything amusing in relation to the election, as security personnel are prepared to deal with them in a combat situation.
“In an election, you don’t compel voters to cast ballots with matches and firearms. The law will punish such individuals.
“A successful and peaceful election is what we want in Kogi. Politicians, therefore, have to play by the rules or face consequences.
“We will all continue to be residents after the election, so the traditional rulers should assist us in interacting with their subjects to keep the peace during that time.”
Prior to the ballot, eighteen political parties participating in the election on Wednesday signed a peace deal.
The Action Alliance (AA), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Labour Party (LP), and the All Progressives Congress (APC) were a few of the parties.
The National Rescue Movement, the Action Democratic Party (ADP), the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), and the Action Democratic Congress (ADC) are the others.
The National Peace Committee Chairman, retired Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, urged the candidates to follow the rules when he spoke during the ceremony.
During the election, Abubakar, through Cardinal John Onaiyekan, pleaded with the parties to follow the agreement.
NAN
