Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has called for support from stakeholders in order to conduct an hitch-free governorship election in Edo State just as it promised to conduct a smooth poll with the highest standards of integrity in the state.
National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, gave the assurance in his remarks at a press conference held in Abuja.
INEC maintained that though the commission has left no stone unturned in its efforts to guarantee the conduct of a credible election, it is however counting on the cooperation of stakeholders to make it a reality.
“As we approach this important election, remember that democracy thrives when the electorate are well-informed, the truth is upheld, and all stakeholders—from the voters to the media—act with integrity and responsibility.
“The commission is committed to ensuring that the Edo governorship election is conducted smoothly, and we count on your cooperation to make this a reality.
“The commission has left no stone unturned in its efforts to guarantee that this election will be conducted with the highest standards of integrity,” it assured.
While giving further update ahead of the election, Olumekun revealed that most arrangements have been concluded and perfected, stressing that; “the training of security personnel has been concluded, while the training of ad-hoc staff, i.e. Supervisory Presiding Officers, Presiding Officers, and Assistant Presiding Officers starts today 6th to the 15th of this month in Edo state.
“The commission is concluding arrangements with the land and maritime transport unions for logistics. The printing of triplicate copies of voters’ register for each of the 4,519 Polling Units in Edo State is virtually completed.
“The installation and configuration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines to be deployed on Election Day is completed. Observer and accreditation tags are being produced as well.
“On Tuesday 10th September 2024, the Chairman of the commission will lead other management team to monitor the Mock Accreditation of voters in selected Polling Units in Edo state to test-run the deployment of BVAS for the election as well as the upload of scanned polling units results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
“The next day, on Wednesday 11th September 2024 in Benin City, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu will chair the INEC Stakeholders meeting involving the Police I.G and all relevant stakeholders in Edo state, and on Thursday, September 12, the signing of the Peace Accord by candidates will take place under the supervision of the National Peace Committee chaired by General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retired), so it’s a very busy period for the commission,” he said.