With the presidential and National Assembly elections billed to hold on Saturday across the 36 states and the FCT, the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in some states have confirmed taking delivery of sensitive materials and their distribution to LGAs.
The REC in Lagos State, Olusegun Agbaje, told newsmen at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) office in Lagos yesterday that the commission had taken delivery of the materials and commenced their distribution to the 20 LGAs of the state.
Our correspondent reports that 10 political parties’ agents were present at the event.
Agbaje said the commission had commenced the distribution of all electoral materials, starting from Wednesday, adding that the electoral officers from each council would do the final distribution on Election Day.
Similarly, INEC in Rivers State has commenced the distribution of sensitive materials to LGAs.
Our correspondent reports that electoral materials which arrived INEC’s office in Port Harcourt yesterday were being distributed to the LGAs.
The REC in Benue State, Prof Sam Egwu, also confirmed to newsmen that the commission had taken delivery of sensitive materials from the CBN yesterday.
Egwu, who spoke with newsmen in Makurdi, expressed satisfaction with the level of preparedness, saying the materials were being conveyed to the LGAs.
Also, INEC has distributed sensitive electoral materials in the 25 LGAs of Niger State.
The REC in the state, Ahmed Yushau Garki, explained that the sensitive materials were handed over to INEC by the CBN and distributed to 4,950 registration centres across the state.
In the same vein, the REC in Borno State, Mohammed Ibrahim Magaji, said the state had taken delivery of sensitive materials.
He told newsmen yesterday in Maiduguri that the commission had taken delivery of 5,071 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines that were configured to the respective LGAs.
Magaji also revealed that the materials would be transported to the electoral areas with the aerial support of a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) jet.
Addressing newsmen shortly after inspecting the materials at the CBN branch in Lafia, the REC in Nasarawa State, Dr Uthman Ajidagba, said the items were adequate and sorted out in accordance with the number of LGAs.
He said the materials which comprised ballot papers, result sheets and BVAS machines, had been customised according to each of the 3,245 polling units across the state.
However, the INEC in Plateau State said INEC would commence the distribution of sensitive materials to the 17 LGAs today.
INEC’s head of Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Egurube Utopa, disclosed this in a chat with Daily Trust in Jos yesterday.
He said, “We shall commence the distribution of those sensitive materials to the 17 LGAs of the state as from Thursday in compliance with INEC’s timetable. So far we don’t have any challenge as far as conducting the presidential election is concerned.”
In Delta State, INEC began the distribution of sensitive materials to LGAs yesterday.
An INEC staff member who pleaded anonymity said, “The electoral materials arrived this morning (yesterday), and like you know, INEC did not keep but started distribution immediately, and they will get to all the LGAs today and tomorrow (Wednesday and Thursday).”
By Eugene Agha (Lagos), Victor Edozie (Port Harcourt), Abah Emmanuel (Makurdi), Abubakar Akote (Minna), Hamisu Kabir Matazu (Maiduguri), Umar Muhammed (Lafia), Yusufu Aminu Idegu (Jos) and Meluwa Kelvin (Asaba)
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