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Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, has expressed concerns following the political tension in Edo State ahead of the September 21 governorship election in the state.
Yakubu said this in Abuja during the quarterly meeting with political party leaders.
He called the attention of the stakeholders to the recent attack on the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Edo State, which led to the death of a security officer.
He hinted that INEC would be meeting with security agencies to address the concerns.
He said with 53 days to the Edo election, some political parties had still not submitted the list of their polling and collation agents, adding that the portal would close on Tuesday (today).
Speaking on deadlines, the INEC chairman said only 14 political parties had uploaded details of the polling agents and collation agents for the Edo election.
He announced that three parties had yet to upload a single polling agent, while five parties had not uploaded agents for ward, LG and state collation centres.
He said, “Only 14 political parties have uploaded the details of 38,354 polling agents and 819 collation agents for the Edo State governorship election.
“Three parties are yet to upload a single polling agent while five parties have not uploaded a single agent for ward, local government and state collation centres. The deadline is today, Tuesday, 30th July, 2024 when the portal automatically shuts down at midnight.
"I urge you to ensure that you meet the deadline so that the commission can produce the accreditation tags and deliver them to you for distribution to your agents in good time.”
He called for compliance with stipulated rules and guidelines to ensure a smooth process.
Yakubu further said, “Campaign by political parties and candidates is in full swing in both Edo and Ondo states. This is the time for party leaders to demonstrate compliance with the commission’s regulations and guidelines for political parties, especially the aspect dealing with rallies, processions, and campaigns already available on our website.
“The commission finds the recent event in Edo State, resulting in the death of security personnel worrisome. Happily, there has been no incident known to the commission since then. Nevertheless, the commission will meet with the security agencies under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security."
The INEC chairman revealed that additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines had been provided to Edo State to train election duty personnel and for contingency support on election day.
