Ahead of Saturday presidential and National Assembly elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Delta State, on Thursday, took custody of the election sensitive materials from the vaults of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), for onward distribution to the 25 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state, prioritising the distribution of the materials to the far-flung LGAs first
Such LGAs include Burutu, Bomadi, Patani, Warri and Sapele etc, which are more of the riverine areas of the state.
Udom Tom, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), who spoke to newsmen in Asaba during the exercise, said the distribution would start immediately.
“We are going to start with the far-flung LGAs like Burutu, Bomadi, Patani, Warri, and Sapele and then come down until we get to Oshimili South which will be the last LGA to receive the materials.
“We are hoping that everybody will cooperate with us so that things will be seamless and fast, and we do not run into negative light because these things (sensitive materials) must get to the LGAs on time.”
The sensitive election materials, which include ballot papers and election result sheets, were crosschecked and verified by the Commission, the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), and agents of the 18 political parties involved in the elections, in the presence of the media.
Emeka Bidokwu, chairman of IPAC and state chairman of the Action Alliance (AA), in the presence of party agents present, confirmed that all the sensitive election materials were complete
He expressed strong optimism that the materials would reach their destinations early enough.
“Before now, the only materials that came were those of the presidential and senate but for transparency’s sake, the receipt and confirmation were suspended until the House of Representatives materials came.
“Thursday, we have seen all the materials and confirmed they are complete,” Bidokwu said.
Brigadier-General Chukwuemeka Udaya (rtd), an INEC-accredited domestic election observer of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), commended the process for being peaceful and devoid of rancour.
“We have checked whether the sensitive materials are complete amd properly labeled and distributed to their respective destinations. I am satisfied with the arrangements so far,” Udaya said.
