Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria – The scheduled commencement of the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in preparation for the September 21 governorship election in Edo State may face hurdles due to the destruction of several registration machines by floods.
Reports from Media Talk Africa indicate that the INEC headquarters office in Benin City was inundated by floodwaters following heavy rainfall on Friday night, resulting in the damage of machines intended for the CVR exercise.
Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee confirmed the incident in a statement released to the press. According to Olumekun, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Edo State, Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, reported the extensive flooding and damage caused by the rainfall.
Olumekun stated, “Some of the voter enrollment machines already configured for the forthcoming Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) are affected.”
Preliminary assessments revealed that a section of the building was damaged, with movable and immovable items submerged, including vehicles and office furniture and equipment.
In response to the setback, Olumekun announced plans to relocate the state headquarters to Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area as a registration centre, as originally planned. Additionally, INEC is mobilizing additional machines from neighbouring states to compensate for the loss.
Despite the challenges posed by the flood damage, Olumekun assured that INEC remains committed to ensuring that the CVR proceeds as scheduled in all 192 wards across Edo State starting on Monday.
