…as Commission commences distribution of Electoral materials to LGs
By Mumini Abdulkareem
Kwara State Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mallam Garba Madami, yesterday, said the results sheets for last Saturday’s rescheduled presidential and National Assembly elections were mistakenly taken to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja’s INEC office.
He added that the ones for Lagos were inadvertently brought to Kwara while that of Lagos were taken to Nasarawa State.
Madami added: “The result sheets for Kwara were found in our FCT office in Abuja and they are going to be sent today. I will be here (CBN) till they bring it.
“Also the results sheet of Lagos was found here. I have sent it back, that of Lagos was also found in Nasarawa. You can see the reason the election was postponed,” the REC said.
Madami said this in Ilorin, the state capital while addressing party agents at the commencement of distribution of sensitive elections materials from the Ilorin office of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to local government areas.
It was witnessed by representatives of various security agencies including the Police, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigerian Prison Service and the media.
He however said the commission was expecting to take delivery of the results sheets to be used for rescheduled elections before the end of Wednesday.
He disclosed that the commission has taken delivery of other materials needed for the rescheduled polls.
“The result sheets are not going to be used not until Saturday we would get it before then,” he said.
He said the commission began the movement of the election materials to various local government areas in the state to ensure those going to the difficult terrain arrive early enough.
“We are stating with the local government that are far way, we are moving our materials to Baruten, Kaiama, Patigi where there are riverine communities, “he said.
Asked whether the materials were secured, Madami said armed security personnel were already at the RAC rack centres to ensure safety of the materials and personnel.
Speaking on the success of Permanent Voters Card PVCS collection in the state, Madami said that the commission has recovered 82 per cent success with only a balance of 257,431 uncollected.
Although, the Public Relations Officer of INEC, Barr. Jacob Ayanda told our reporter in a telephone chat that they are expecting the result sheets last night, checks by our reporter at the Ilorin International Airport revealed that no aircraft landed at the facility last night with INEC materials.
A source at the airport said; “No plane landed today with any INEC materials. It was a chattered air force aircraft that brought the materials yesterday (Tuesday)”, he added.
