The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced the distribution of sensitive election materials for the Ondo South Senatorial District bye-election scheduled for Saturday, as preparations intensify for the exercise.
The distribution, supervised by electoral officials, security agencies and representatives of participating political parties, involved the deployment of ballot papers, result sheets and other sensitive materials to designated locations across the district.
Daily Trust report that the electoral body had scheduled June 20 for the by-election to fill the seat of Sen. Jimoh Ibrahim after his appointment as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking during the distribution exercise held at the premises of the Central Bank of Nigeria in Akure on Wednesday, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ondo State, Mutiu Agboke, said the commission had concluded all logistics arrangements necessary for the smooth conduct of the election.
According to him, non-sensitive materials had already been distributed, while the deployment of sensitive materials was being carried out in the presence of party agents and security personnel.
Agboke also disclosed that all Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices designated for the election had been tested and certified, with backup machines provided to address any technical challenges that may arise.
He said a total of 673,446 registered voters are expected to participate in the poll across 1,354 polling units and 66 registration areas spread across Okitipupa, Irele, Ilaje, Ese-Odo, Odigbo and Ile-Oluji/Oke-Igbo local government areas.
The REC noted that only four political parties—the All Progressives Congress (APC), Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM), Action Peoples Party (APP) and Boot Party (BP)—would participate in the election.
He urged political parties and other stakeholders to ensure transparency and maintain peace before, during and after the election.
“Nothing will determine the winner of any election in Ondo State other than the votes of the people. 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,” Agboke said.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Ondo State, Alex Adeniyi, expressed confidence in INEC’s preparedness to conduct a credible and transparent election.
Adeniyi said the commission, under Agboke’s leadership, had demonstrated commitment to ensuring that votes cast by the electorate would count.
Meanwhile, representatives of participating political parties called on INEC to ensure the early deployment of election materials on election day.
The Ondo State Chairman of the Allied Peoples’ Movement, Felix Oloro, and APP representative, Olaoluwa Adesanya, affirmed their parties’ readiness for Saturday’s bye-election.