INEC begins distribution of sensitive materials for Ondo south bye-election

—673,446 voters, 4 parties to participate

—-BVAS tested, backups ready– INEC

By Dayo Johnson Akure

The Independent National Electoral Commission has commenced the distribution of sensitive election materials for the Ondo South Senatorial District bye-election scheduled for Saturday, June 20.

The distribution, supervised by electoral officials, security agencies, and representatives of political parties, involved the deployment of ballot papers, result sheets, and other sensitive materials to designated locations ahead of the poll.

Recall that the bye-election was fixed to fill the vacant seat of Senator Jimoh Ibrahim after his appointment as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations by President Bola Tinubu.

Speaking during the distribution exercise held at the Central Bank of Nigeria premises, Resident Electoral Commissioner Mutiu Agboke said all logistics arrangements for the smooth conduct of the election had been concluded.

Agboke said non-sensitive materials had earlier been distributed, while sensitive materials were being deployed in the presence of party agents and security personnel.

He added that the commission had tested and certified all Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices designated for the election, with additional backup machines available to address possible technical challenges.

The REC reiterated that a total of 673,446 registered voters are expected to participate across 1,354 polling units and 66 registration areas in Okitipupa, Irele, Ilaje, Ese-Odo, Odigbo, and Ile-Oluji/Oke-Igbo local government areas.

According to him, only four political parties will participate: All Progressives Congress, Allied Peoples’ Movement, Action Peoples Party, and Boot Party.

Agboke charged stakeholders on transparency and peaceful conduct during and after the election.

“Nothing will determine the winner of any election in Ondo state other than the votes of the people,” he said.

“So, If you are asking INEC about transparency, also ask the stakeholders, particularly political parties, to also be transparent. How? On election day, if you bring money to get people’s votes, you are not transparent.

“If you want to unleash terror or you want to unleash violence, you are not transparent. If you want to harass our staff, you want to create problems in the electoral space, you are not transparent.

“So, for INEC, we have trained our staff. They are going to work with the best practices of the standard we have given them. They are going to ensure that people’s votes count,” he said.

The state Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council, Mr Alex Adeniyi, expressed confidence in INEC to conduct a smooth and transparent poll.

Adeniyi said the electoral body under Agboke had shown readiness in ensuring people’s votes count.

Meanwhile, representatives of the political parties tasked INEC on early arrival of election materials. Felix Oloro, state Chairman of APM, and Olaoluwa Adesanya, representative of APP, both affirmed their readiness for Saturday’s bye-election.

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