INEC raises security concerns over Edo governorship election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised security concerns over the forthcoming 21 September governorship election in Edo State.

Mahmood Yakubu, the chairperson of the commission, said this in Abuja on Thursday when he appeared before the joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters.

His appearance was in preparation for the upcoming off-circle governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states.

He said the main concern of INEC in the Edo governorship election was security.

“When we were there, one of the political parties raised an issue in Edo about the likely deployment of the Edo State Security Network (ESSN).

“But immediately after we received the complaint, we headed to the office of the Commissioner of Police and summoned a meeting with all security agencies in Edo.”

He said the commission agreed to meet with all political parties, and the commissioner of police told INEC and the party leaders that he would take up the matter with the state government.

“The issue at that time was the ongoing continuous voter registration, and since then, I am not aware of any official complaints from any party or candidate on the role of the ESSN,” he said.

The chairperson said he believed that the commissioner of police must have spoken to the leadership of the ESSN.

The ESSN is a local vigilante group set up and funded by the Edo State Government.

On preparation for the governorship race, Mr Yakubu said, “We have conducted continuous voter registration. A few of the registered voters require validation.”

He stated that INEC was not happy with the quality of the biometrics for the registered voters in the states.

Mr Yakubu said it is the right of every registered Nigerian to be able to vote seamlessly.

He said it was also the responsibility of INEC to ensure that every citizen was given the opportunity to vote.

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According to him, the outcome of the continuous voter registration in Edo would be published next week.

Mr Yakubu said that one of the major problems faced by the commission was the difficulty in conducting off-cycle governorship elections. He said it was more difficult than to conduct general elections.

“These off-cycle elections are very difficult and challenging for us,” he said.

(NAN)