The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, says it has deployed 9 further Residents Electoral Commissioners, REC, in Imo for Saturday’s governorship poll.
The chairman of the fee, Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this at a stakeholders’ assembly in Owerri on Monday.
The assembly was attended by governorship candidates, chairmen and secretaries of the political events taking part in the election in addition to representatives of Civil Society Organisations.
Mr Yakubu, represented by a nationwide commissioner in-charge of the South-East, Kenneth Ukeagu, mentioned the RECs have been drawn from Cross Rivers, Niger, Plateau, Bauchi, Oyo, Katsina, Gombe and Yobe States.
He additionally mentioned that the executive secretary of the fee in Ekiti was amongst these deployed to offer supervisory assist on the native authorities degree.
Fielding questions from the stakeholders, the INEC boss allayed the concern that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, had been compromised.
“We have configured the BVAS and carried out mock accreditation in the state.
“There will be no foreign figures in the BVAS at the polling units.
“We are confident that BVAS will work effectively,” he assured the contributors.
Yakubu additionally debunked insinuations by some stakeholders that the collation facilities had been moved from the designated facilities to Local Government (*9*).
The INEC chief additional introduced that non-sensitive supplies had been conveyed to the fee’s places of work in the 27 Local Government Areas of the state.
“The commission has mobilised the National Union of Road Transport Workers to ensure timely movement of election materials to the polling units,” he mentioned.
On the agitation for the redeployment of.the state REC, Sylvia Agu, the chairman mentioned that such switch or elimination might solely be completed, if there was proof of the allegations towards her.
“We have to be convinced with evidence that she has done wrong before we can take action.
“As it stands now, we have no reason to remove the Imo REC,” Mr Yakubu mentioned.
He appealed to voters to prove en masse to train their franchise, assuring them that the fee was decided to make sure that their votes rely.
Speaking on behalf of the police, ACP Musa Abdullahi, urged voters and residents of the state to ignore calls for a lockdown by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra.
“We are prepared to defend and protect lives and property as much as we can with the resources available,” Mr Abdullahi mentioned.
The News Agency of Nigeria stories that the assembly had earlier turned rowdy, when INEC chairman’s consultant requested journalists to go away the venue.
However, members of the Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party kicked towards the request and insisted that the media should cowl the interplay or they’d stage a walkout themselves.
Mr Ukeagu later restored normalcy in the corridor when he lastly bowed to the strain to permit the media on the assembly.
NAN