The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced nationwide movement of sensitive materials for Saturday’s governorship and House of Assembly elections.

The electoral umpire took delivery of such sensitive materials like Bimodal Voter Accreditation (BVAS) System, election result sheets, ballot papers and others,  from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), yesterday.

Party agents, security agencies including paramilitary, police, Army, Nigerian Security, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and Department of State Service (DSS), election observers, and other critical stakeholders were on ground in states to witness delivery and the distribution of the materials to the various Local Government Areas (LGAs.)

In Lagos, the exercise, led by INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje and Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, was monitored by security and other  stakeholders.

INEC Electoral Officers from the 20 local government areas  were on ground to move the materials to  their respective local government area offices in the state.

Speaking to newsmen, Agbaje, who noted that INEC was ready to  conduct  free, fair and credible elections on Saturday, called for cooperation and support of all stakeholders.

He assured that all the sensitive materials were secured and intact for every stakeholder to see the transparency of the commission.

In Osun State, the REC, Dr. Mutiu Agboke, who supervised the distribution witnessed by representatives of various political parties said the sensitive materials were customised in batches for easy and quick deployment to various local governments.

He expressed the readiness of the commission and other various stakeholders to ensure seamless conduct of the election into the house of assembly.

“If disruption happens anywhere, it will attract zero votes. INEC will not go back there to conduct the election. Where elections had been canceled because of over-voting, we will not allow anybody. The security has assured us that proper deployment will be made. We are going to secure all our levels of locations from ward to local and to the state. Our armed security person will be fully on the ground at the collation centers. It’s going to be a sterling outing for us in Osun and I can assure you that the election will be one of the best conducted in Nigeria,” he said.

•Bauchi closes public schools

In Bauchi State, the REC, Mohammed Nura, said the early distribution was  to avoid shortfalls of materials.

Meanwhile, the government has declared a two-day break for state-owned schools.

Commissioner for Education, Hajiya Jamila Dahiru, in the statement, said the break was due to the adjustment in the date of polls

“Day schools are to be closed  on Friday 17 and Monday 20 March, and school activities are to resume on Tuesday 21 March, 2023. All boarding school students are to remain in their respective schools during the break.”

•Oyo REC assures

INEC has distributed sensitive election materials to all the 33 local government areas in Oyo State.

REC, Dr. Adeniran Tella, said all BVAS had been properly configured for the elections.

He said the commission had also made provisions for extra 124 BVAS to ensure smooth running of the exercise, with additional 406 BVAS as backup in case of special needs.

“It is our tradition that we normally move our election materials from CBN to LGAs, onward to registration area centres (RACs) down to polling units at the instance of security agencies, media, party agents and other stakeholders,” he said.

•Journalists barred in Kebbi

Journalists operating in Kebbi State have been barred from covering the distribution of sensitive materials meant for the elections in all the 21 local government areas.

Journalists were officially invited through an invitation letter by INEC in the state, signed by Administrative Secretary, Muhammad Ahmad Ushama to report at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) office in Birnin Kebbi for coverage of the distribution of sensitive materials to ensure transparency, were denied access.

•REC signs 3,281 result sheets to douse tension

Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Cross River State, Prof. Gabriel Yomere, said he personally signed all 3,281 result sheets meant for Saturday’s governorship election in the state.

Yomere disclosed this in Calabar, yesterday, during the inspection of the electoral materials for the polls, before their onward distribution to the various LGAs of the state.

He said the need to sign the result sheets became necessary,  to douse tension and also dispel rumours that the sheets had already been issued out to a particular political party.

The Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), has lauded the decision of the REC to sign the result sheets for the elections.

IPAC Chairman in the state, Mr Bissong Attah, who spoke at the venue of the distribution, said it was what they had requested the commission to do as part of efforts to curb what played out during the February 25 polls.

•Intersociety raises the alarm

International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has alleged plot to rig elections in 20 states by their governors and collaborators.

It listed the affected states as  Anambra, Abia, Imo, Ebonyi, Enugu, Delta, Rivers, Cross River, Bayelsa, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba, Kaduna, Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti, Oyo and Kogi. 

The group alleged that over N50 billion is to be disbursed by agents of governments to ensure their puppets were installed as governors and lawmakers to cover up the looting and misappropriation of funds in their states.

Chairman of Intersociety, Emeka Umeagbalasi, in a statement, yesterday, said the the outcome of the presidential and national Assembly polls, where LP swept massive votes across key states had rattled state governors into plotting how to rig saturday’s elections to avert imminent losses staring them in the face.

“Tsunami Obidients ballot effects has panicked  20 state governors and force them into squandering N50 billion public funds in vote-buying to install their puppets as next governors and state lawmakers…From fresh findings and facts at our disposal, panics, fears and desperations have gripped the camps of the named 20 governors and their governments for possibility of them losing gubernatorial incumbencies and majority in the State Assemblies; with imaginary impeachment threats. 

“Intersociety has therefore investigated and found that there is likelihood of N50billion state funds to be wastefully spent by the 20 governors for purposes of cash or material vote-buying, voter suppression and coercive and intimidating measures in this Saturday, Mach 18, 2023 election,”Umeagbalasi said.

Umeagbalasi called on anti graft agencies like EFCC, ICPC and others to place the 20 states under their watch-list and dispassionately do that justly required of them by law. 

He tasked security agencies to  resist being compromised and pocketed by the panicking and desperate governors.

“The polls are also projected to be violence threatening with high possibility of votes of the electorates not going to be counted. That is to say that not only that voter suppression and collation center result fixing that characterized the Feb 25 presidential and National Assembly will be repeated in the March 18 governorship and state Assembly polls in the affected 20 states but the polls are also most likely to witness violence and widespread cash or material vote-buying. 

“Violence is likely to be witnessed in Enugu (dichotomy violence), Rivers (State sponsored violence), Delta, Ebonyi (Ebubeagu and thuggery violence), Abia, Benue (inter party and federally sponsored religious violence), Lagos (state state actor sponsored group violence), Kaduna (State sponsored inter ethno-religious violence) and Anambra (State sponsored political thuggery violence), etc,” Umeagbalasi warned.