November 11, (THEWILL) – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured prospective voters whose Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) got burnt in the attack on its Local Government Area offices in Abeokuta South in Ogun state, that they would not be disenfranchised.
Chairman of the commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu gave the assurance on Friday, at the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) meeting held at the Commission headquarters in Abuja.
Hoodlums had simultaneously set fire to the commission’s offices in Abeokuta in Ogun and Ede South Local Government Area of Osun State.
While the attack on the Osun office caused minimal damage, the Abeokuta office was completely burnt down along with 65,699 uncollected Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), 904 ballot boxes, 29 voting cubicles, 30 megaphones, 57 election bags, and 8 electric generators.
Professor Yakubu said they suspect that the two attacks were coordinated.
He disclosed that the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Ogun state has been directed to compile the Voter Identification Numbers (VINs) of all the 65,699 Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) lost in the attack from the database and submit the record for immediate reprint.
His words: “For Abeokuta South Local Government Area office, the destruction was total. Consequently, the Commission is relocating our staff to the old State office (also known as INEC Office Annex) in Oke-Ilewo area of Abeokuta.
“All activities involving the 15 Registration Areas (Wards) and 445 Polling Units in Abeokuta South Local Government Area will henceforth be coordinated from the new location in Oke-Ilewo.
“Similarly, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Ogun State has been directed to compile the Voter Identification Numbers (VINs) of all the 65,699 Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) lost in the attack from our database and submit the record for immediate reprint.
“We want to assure affected registered voters in Abeokuta South that no one will be disenfranchised as a result of this dastardly act.”
On the spate of violence trailing campaigns by political parties, the INEC Chairman told the gathering of top security personnel that “the commission has so far tracked 50 incidents across 21 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.”
He enjoined the ICCES to come up with decisive actions to curtail threats to security around election officials and electoral infrastructure around the country.
“Turning to the spate of physical attacks during the ongoing political campaigns and rallies, the Commission has so far tracked 50 incidents across 21 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
“These unhappy occurrences are coming just a little over one month into the election campaign which is scheduled to last for about five months from 28th September 2022 to 23rd February 2023 for national elections (Presidential and National Assembly) and from 12th October 2022 to 11th March 2023 for State elections (Governorship and Houses of Assembly).
“The commission is worried that if no urgent and decisive steps are taken, the attacks will intensify as we approach the election date. As we all know, a peaceful campaign heralds a peaceful election. We need to take decisive steps to stem the ugly trend.
“As a body, the ICCES brings together security, safety and other agencies responsible for securing the process and ensuring peaceful elections in Nigeria. Understandably, Nigerians expect decisive action from ICCES. It is important that we move swiftly to apprehend perpetrators, prosecute them as required by law and reinforce security around election officials and electoral infrastructure around the country.
“As we have stated on several occasions, the election is a multi-stakeholder activity involving not just INEC and the security agencies. The political class plays perhaps the most critical role in ensuring peaceful elections. We must all rise to the occasion. Nigerians are watching us. The world is watching us. We must never disappoint them.
“The commission wishes to reassure Nigerians that we remain committed to delivering credible elections in spite of the challenges. The attempt to sabotage or weaken our resolve will not deter us from conducting transparent elections in which only the votes cast by Nigerians on Election Day will determine winners of elections.”
National Security Adviser, Babagana Moguno, said security chiefs were determined to carry out the instruction of President Muhammadu Buhari to deal with any group or organization that could threaten the seamless conduct of the next general elections.
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