Toba Owojaiye reporting
Benin City, Edo State
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is gearing up for the Edo State governorship election, scheduled for Saturday. Over 5,000 Bimodal Voter Accreditation Systems (BVAS) and other sensitive election materials have been deployed to ensure smooth operations. The deployment will cover 4,519 polling units and 211 collation centers, with more than 18,000 ad-hoc staff assigned to manage the process.
Three major contenders in the race are Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP). As part of the security measures, INEC has increased financial support for election logistics, and law enforcement agencies have deployed drones, helicopters, and 35,000 police officers, along with other security personnel, to maintain peace and order.
Truth Live News gathered that the political atmosphere is tense, as accusations have been exchanged. The APC and LP have criticized the PDP over a N1 billion grant given to market women by Governor Godwin Obaseki. Additionally, the PDP has faced allegations of arrests, but the police clarified that arrests were linked to a murder investigation and were not politically motivated.
The Force Spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi also said drones, helicopters and other equipment had been deployed in the state to forestall any violent incidents during the poll.
Adejobi confirmed that DIG Frank Mba would lead the police team, noting that Assistant Inspectors-General and Commissioners of Police would be posted to senatorial districts and local governments.
He said, “We are deploying 35,000 police officers to Edo, and we expect 8,000 plus to join us from other security agencies who are members of the Committee on Election Security. The IGP has deployed two Deputy Inspectors-General Police, DIG Frank Mba, to be the head of the team, then DIG Daniel Pedro, who is from the South-South, to be part of it. AIGs, Commissioners of Police are to be posted to senatorial districts and local governments.
INEC, security agencies, and other stakeholders are focused on delivering a transparent, free, and fair election.