Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta State Governor and leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, on Wednesday, called for the unity of the party and for members to mobilize the electorate massively for the state’s House of Assembly bye-election in Isoko South Constituency I, scheduled for this Saturday, September 11.
The call came on the heels of the Independent Electoral Commission’s (INEC) introduction of new accreditation and voting device called Voter Enrolment Device (IVEC).
This was as the governor on Tuesday, announced a sum of N3 million rewards for any of the five wards of the constituency, that is able to produce the highest number of votes for the bye-election.
Okowa who made the announcement during the flag-off campaign at Irri Ward 11 held at Uro-Irri Primary school, in Isoko South LGA, also announced the sum of N2 million to be given to the ward that would come second in the exercise.
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Addressing PDP members and supporters at a rally at Oleh in the constituency, Wednesday, on the need to be united and mobilize for the party., Okowa explained that mobilisation of the electorate was necessary for view of the new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System ( BVAS ) device which would ensure simultaneous accreditation of voters with fingerprints and photographs to ensure authenticity and validity of votes cast.
The governor called for unity among party leaders and stakeholders ahead of the Saturday polls, saying that quarrelling was part of politics but that the people should not allow anger to destroy the collective interest of the people.
“There is need to be united because a divided people cannot develop as much as a united people and I want brotherly love and unity to continue to reign in Isokoland.
The INEC had on Tuesday, told media executives in Abuja that it has introduced a new electoral device, Voter Enrolment Device (IVED)which it says would eliminate the possibility of voting by identify theft using another person’s Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) on election day.
According to Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, IVED is the commission’s new voter enrolment and voter verification device introduced to address the weakness observed in Smart Card Reader (SCR) in the voter accreditation process.
Yakubu said that the commission intended to carry out a pilot exercise using the new device in Delta during the Isoko South 1 State Assembly constituency by-election that will hold on Saturday, Sept 11, to fill the vacancy created following the death of late Kenneth Ogba in June 2021.
“The BVAS will now perform the functions of both the SCR and Z-Pad in the by-election.
“Thereafter, it will be deployed in the Anambra Governorship election in November,” Yakubu added.
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