2019: Materials for Saturday election intact, safe – INEC
INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Oyo State, Mr. Mutiu Agboke, has assured residents that all sensitive materials for the conduct of Saturday election are safe and intact.
Agboke gave the assurance on Tuesday in Ibadan while addressing stakeholders on the level of preparedness for the rescheduled presidential/National Assembly elections.
He said some sensitive materials that were distributed to the local government offices of INEC before the postponement of the election had been retrieved.
According to him, the retrieved materials are in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Ibadan branch.
“All the Smart Card Readers that have been distributed to INEC offices in the 33 local government areas prior to the postponement have been retrieved also.
“But the SCRs were returned to the state office of INEC for reconfiguration in line with the new date for the national elections; the reconfiguration of the card readers was completed on Monday,’’ Agboke said.
He, however, denied the allegation that the Commission was romancing with a particular political party in the state.
“The Commission remains neutral and unbiased in discharging its constitutional duty,’’ Agboke said.
He reiterated the commitment of the Commission to conducting free, fair and credible elections.
In his remarks, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Shina Olukolu, said security operatives would ensure that peace reigns throughout the period of the elections.
Olukolu said the police had identified the violence-prone areas and put necessary things in place to make the polls peaceful.
He assured all eligible voters in the state to come out on the election days to exercise their civic responsibility.
The Liberator reports that representatives of the Immigration Service, Custom Service, NSCDC, Prison Service, NYSC, NOA and political parties attended the stakeholders meeting.
