INEC deploys 50% of materials, asks security agencies to stop attacks
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Recurring orchestrated attacks against the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in some states may escalate and disrupt or hinder outright the 2023 ballot unless the security agencies buckle up and stop the violence.
INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu sounded the alarm on Monday when a delegation of the African Union Special Pre-Electoral Political Mission visited him at INEC headquarters in Abuja.
Three attacks in as many weeks have been launched on INEC facilities in Ogun, Osun, and Ebonyi.
Yakubu insisted, however, the INEC on its own would not be deterred by the challenges, and it is ready to conduct free and fair elections.
“In the last three weeks, three of our local government offices were attacked in three different states across the country. The last attack happened yesterday [Sunday].
“Though there are no casualties, quite a number of the materials acquired and delivered for the election have been lost,” he told the delegation.
__________________________________________________________________
Related articles:
INEC says it’s ‘legally impossible’ to resume voter registration before 2023 ballot
INEC says man caught with 101 PVCs bagged 1 year jail term
__________________________________________________________________
Non-sensitive materials deployed
“The good thing is that so far, we can recover from all the losses but it is a source of concern which should not be allowed to continue,” Yakubu added, as reported by The PUNCH.
“We will continue to engage the security agencies to make sure that our offices, personnel and facilities are protected ahead of the election.
“We may express some concern about the attack on these facilities but it will not deter the Commission from conducting the election as scheduled.
“I want to assure you that yes, we may suffer little hitches here and there, but overall, the Commission is required to proceed with the election and in the manner that the law requires us to do, using the deployment of technology for the purpose of accreditation and uploading of polling units’ results.
“We are confident to say at this point, three months to the election, about 50 per cent of non-sensitive materials have been deployed to locations. We are making good progress indeed.”
