The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) claims that the ongoing security issue in the state is one of their top concerns about the conduct of the Kogi governorship election on November 11.
When he visited the Kogi Local Government (LGA) headquarters of the commission in Kotonkarfe on Saturday to observe mock accreditation in Lokoja, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of INEC, said this.
According to Yakubu, the commission is collaborating with the security services to create a safe atmosphere for a fair and impartial poll.
There are two government buildings everywhere you go in Nigeria. Inec is one. A local government authority (LGA) will have an INEC office run by an Electoral Officer (EO). You will also notice the local government’s police station, which is run by a Divisional Police Officer (DPO).
“Therefore, we are cooperating everywhere. And I’m glad that we’re cooperating as we get ready for the elections,” he added.
Yakubu gave the state’s Electoral Officers (EOs) the advice to engage with security agencies and deploy logistics at Registration Area Centres (RACs) in accordance with the usual template in order for the election to start in Polling Units (Pus) at 8.30 a.m.
“You must use the normal template for this election, is my suggestion to you.
“I’m delighted to hear that your local government has received all the non-sensitive materials. And I’m certain that other municipal administrations are experiencing the same problem.
“However, it’s not just that the material be received that matters. They must be batch-loaded into the box one per polling unit.
So, he explained, “on election day, you will move to the polling places as you move to the super RACs or the RAC centres.”
Yakubu continued, “We are saying to Nigerians that polling places must open precisely at 8.30 a.m. As a result, you must turn on the RACs. If you don’t turn on the RACs, we won’t be able to officially start the voting at 8:30 am.
“You must activate the RACs with security, and I’m glad you are collaborating with them,” she said.
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He praised every member of the INEC team and the state’s security organisations.
The election preparations are well underway, according to Mr. Hassan Musa, the electoral officer at the Kogi Local Government Area (LGA) office in Kotonkarfe.
According to Musa, the LG office has already received all the non-sensitive election materials and is coordinating with security organisations to ensure a smooth poll.
He stated that the commission would visit the RAC facilities in the LG in the coming weeks to check on the preparations.
“We have received almost all of the non-sensitive election materials, and we successfully sent them to the PUs level, so we are ready to begin. For the time being, there is no deficiency.
Sensitive materials are what we are now awaiting. As you well aware, sensitive materials are released just a few days before an election. Furthermore, we have friendly relationships with security authorities, and they are working hard to address problem locations for security.
Almost all of the non-sensitive materials have been delivered to us, and we have successfully sent them to PU tiers. We are now ready to go, sir. For the time being, there is no deficiency.
The sensitive materials, which often arrive a few days before the polls, are what he stated they were waiting for.
Additionally, we have a great rapport with the security personnel, he continued. You can see that we are having a meeting with them. Every day, we even have a brief discussion with them, and they work hard to eliminate any areas that pose security risks.
In order to sign an MOU with the transport unions, we have also met with them.
Yakubu reportedly took use of the chance to plant a tree on the grounds of the INEC office for peace elections before moving on to visit several PUs where mock accreditation was conducted in Lokoja. (NAN)
