The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied contracting the National Union of Road Transport Workers in Lagos State or other transport unions to convey materials for them on Election Day.
There have been reports that INEC in Lagos State has contracted the Lagos State Parks Management Committee led by Musiliu Akinsanya popularly known as MC Oluomo to convey election materials for the Commission.
But speaking on Channels Television’s The 2023 Verdict programme on Thursday, the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said the electoral umpire does not have any contract with the body or any other transport unions.
According to him, the Commission is going to hire at least 138,000 vehicles for the 2023 election adding that they have hired vehicles in the past.
He further said the Commission is going to hire at least 4,000 boats and at least 88,000 motorcycles.
He disclosed that the Commission enters into individual contracts with the vehicle owners noting that they do not enter into any form of contract with the union.
He said what the Commission has with the National Union of Road Transport Workers and with the National Association of Road Transport Owners and the Marine Union is what they call a Memorandum of Understanding.
He said INEC’s MoU with the transport unions is for accountability in case a driver absconds or does not turn up for duty.
Okoye said the Commission deals with each state according to their peculiarity, adding that the Supervising National Commissioner in Lagos State has assured of a hitch-free arrangement.
The INEC National Commissioner also said that the electoral umpire and other observers are satisfied with the performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) during the mock accreditation exercise recently conducted in 436 polling units.
According to Okoye, the BVAS can capture the fingerprints of registered voters or their facials.
He said Nigerians who participated in the exercise expressed satisfaction with it and commended the Commission for the advancement.