The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday said that it is ready for the governorship election in Ondo State on November 16.
INEC National Commissioner Supervising Ondo, Ogun and Osun States, Professor Kunle Ajayi, made the announcement on Channels Television’s Politics Today in Akure.
Ajayi told the Ondo electorate that INEC won’t disappoint them as they file out their numbers to elect a new governor.
“We have done our own work; we are proud of what we have done and we will not disappoint the people of Ondo State,” Ajayi said.
“I want to assure you that everything will go well. As of 3 pm, all the Registered Areas (RAs) had all their sensitive materials. The next thing is to move to the Polling Unit (PU). I toured some of the RAs this afternoon.”
The Guardian had previously reported that INEC on Thursday distributed sensitive materials to the 18 Local Government Area of Ondo State ahead of the Nov. 16 governorship election in the state.
Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ondo State, monitored the exercise at the Akure branch of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Babalola said that the early distribution of the sensitive materials was to show that the commission was ready for the election.
The REC said that the sensitive materials were being distributed to ensure that no ward or polling unit was omitted.
“We promise that the commission will be transparent in the conduct of the election. You can see that the distribution exercise is going on very smoothly.The farthest local governments have started moving to their locations. All the other local governments have received their materials; they are checking and loading the vehicles.” Babalola said.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Police Force has deployed approximately 34,000 operatives for the Ondo State governorship election scheduled for Saturday, November 16, 2024, according to Abiodun Alabi, the Deputy Inspector General of Police Coordinating Election Security, who disclosed this to Channels Television on Friday.
Alabi said measures have been taken to avoid infiltration of thugs or unauthorised persons during the off-cycle poll, noting that all the 3,933 polling units of the state would be well covered, stressing that police operatives have been deployed across the wards and local government areas.
“By tomorrow, all the 3,933 polling units will be well covered,” he said. “We have about 34,000 police officers on the ground.”
