The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced full preparedness for Saturday’s by-election in the Dekina-Okura constituency of Kogi State.
Kogi Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Oliver Agundu, disclosed this on Tuesday in Lokoja, the state capital.
The poll follows the death of the former Deputy Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon. Enema Paul, who passed away on December 14, 2024, after a prolonged illness.
Agundu, who spoke through INEC’s Education Officer, Mr Haruna Haliru, said that the commission had held a meeting of the Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
The meeting, he said, was aimed at mapping out plans to secure both the personnel and the materials during and after the election.
“All non-sensitive materials have been deployed to the local government, and we are only waiting for the arrival of the sensitive materials on Wednesday or Thursday.
“We have concluded the training of our supervisory presiding officers (SPOs), who are mainly INEC staff, in readiness for the election,” he said.
Agundu stated training had also been done for presiding officers (POs) and assistant presiding officers (APOs) in Anyigba between Aug. 8 and Aug. 10.
According to him, only five candidates from five political parties are contesting the election.
The REC listed the parties to include: Accord, African Democratic Congress (ADC), All Progressives Congress (APC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He assured all stakeholders in the constituency of a free, fair, transparent, and credible election.
Agundu called on all registered voters in the constituency to come out en masse, conduct themselves in an orderly manner, and vote for candidates of their choice.