Elections: Why our materials can’t be diverted – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ekiti State, has again assured voters that sensitive and non-sensitive materials already distributed for the conduct of Saturday’s elections got to the right destinations across the 16 local government areas of the state.

Speaking with newsmen in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, INEC Acting Resident Electoral Commissioner, who doubles as the commission’s administrative secretary in the state, Dr. Muslim Omoleke, said vehicles that conveyed the electoral materials were monitored through a Special Centre called Electoral Operation Support Centre (EOSC).
Omoleke disclosed that the INEC in Ekiti had received virtually all the materials ready for the conduct of the elections and are 98 per cent ready for the polls.

He added that apart from the fact that adequate security were on ground to monitor the materials to the councils and from there to the wards and registration areas, that all vans used for the movement were tracked and monitored to their respective destinations.
“The reason for the postponement of the election for basically that of logistic problem . As we speak, we have distributed all the materials, both sensitive and non-sensitive materials to the local governments from where they were moved to the wards and registration areas.
“Virtually all the materials have been offloaded as of 11am this morning (Thursday). To make the elections credible, we are going to do refresher training for our ad hoc staff on Friday to remind them about the rules of the game.

“We created Electoral Operation Support Centre (EOSC) to monitor events and ensure that materials get to the right places.
“We also have people working in the situation room who have all the numbers of the staff on the field, especially the Presiding Officers.
“We are also working with the security agencies, the police, NIA and NSCDC and the military, who have been guarding our materials. We are 100 percent sure that our materials are intact and safe .
“I can boldly say that we have substantially addressed the situations that led to the sudden postponement last week.
“The mix up encountered in our materials last week could be factory error and that was why we started the sorting early this time at the Central Bank of Nigeria to prevent such again,” he said.