The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kwara State has dispatched sensitive and non-sensitive materials to the 16 local government areas of the state preparatory to the governorship and State House of Assembly elections scheduled for Saturday.
The dispatching of the materials conducted within the premises of the Ilorin branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had in attendance electoral officers of the 16 councils and representatives of the political parties.
The new Administrative Secretary of INEC in the state, Shehu Maiyanga, led officials of the electoral commission to perform the exercise.
Maiyanga disclosed that the items distributed included result sheets, ballot papers and stamp duty.
According to him, all hitches identified in the past elections have been corrected. He promised that the commission will ensure free and credible conduct of the election.
He urged residents of the state to conduct themselves peacefully before, during and after the elections.
Postponement of election
The Gubernatorial and State House of Assembly polls, which were initially slated for March 11, 2023, were rescheduled for March 18, 2023, on the ground that it would enable the commission to reconfigure the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) adopted for the ongoing general elections.
It was observed that the election materials hitherto warehoused in the apex bank vaults, had been sorted and awaiting dispatching until the postponement was announced.
Vehicles hired for the distribution of the election materials were sighted moving one after the other out of the premises of CBN as soon as they were loaded.
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Smooth dispatch of election materials
In separate interviews, the state Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Lawal Suleiman Duduyemi, said the dispatching of election materials was conducted smoothly, adding that officials of the commission arrived at the venue timely.
He said that the materials had been taken to the local government areas outskirts of Ilorin, the state capital, which according to him, is a reflection of the readiness of INEC to make the exercise credible.
According to him, the INEC team arrived early on Thursday and made sure that all the 16 Electoral Officers were present to take the election materials back to their local government areas.
Duduyemi disclosed that electoral materials had been taken to even some local government areas that are far away from the state capital including Baruten, Kaiama and Patigi.
He thanked the electoral management body, media and security agencies for the level of transparency in the distribution of the election materials.
The State Auditor of the African Democratic Party (ADP), Akinjide Ogunyemi, who also lent credence to the dispatching of election materials, said the process was without any interference.
He added that he found it acceptable to all parties present.
Ogunyemi said his expectation was for eligible voters to turn out en masse as against the Presidential and National Assembly elections that recorded apathy.
He acknowledged that several factors could be responsible for the poor turnout but expressed optimism that electorates would assemble at various polling units tomorrow to exercise their franchise.
In a related interview with newsmen, the Representative of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) Alhaji Toyin Ayinla expressed confidence that the commission will provide a level playing field for all political parties.
Also speaking, the State Director of, the National Orientation Directorate, Mr Olusegun Adeyemi expressed satisfaction with the improvements recorded in the distribution of electoral materials by the Commission.
Emmanuel Ukoh
