Materials for Saturday election intact, safe —Oyo REC

INEC ’ s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Oyo State , Mr. Mutiu Agboke , has assured residents that all sensitive materials for the conduct of Saturday election are safe and intact .

Agboke gave the assurance on Tuesday in Ibadan while addressing stakeholders on the level of preparedness for the rescheduled presidential /National Assembly elections.

He said some sensitive materials that were distributed to the local government offices of INEC before the postponement of the election had been retrieved .

According to him , the retrieved materials are in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria , Ibadan branch .

“ All the Smart Card Readers that have been distributed to INEC offices in the 33 local government areas prior to the postponement have been retrieved also.

“ But the SCRs were returned to the state office of INEC for reconfiguration in line with the new date for the national elections; the reconfiguration of the card readers was completed on Monday , ’’ Agboke said .

He, however, denied the allegation that the Commission was romancing with a particular political party in the state .

“ The Commission remains neutral and unbiased in discharging its constitutional duty, ’’ Agboke said .
He reiterated the commitment of the Commission to conducting free , fair and credible elections.

In his remarks , the State Commissioner of Police , Mr. Shina Olukolu, said security operatives would ensure that peace reigns throughout the period of the elections.

Olukolu said the police had identified the violence- prone areas and put necessary things in place to make the polls peaceful .

He assured all eligible voters in the state to come out on the election days to exercise their civic responsibility .

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that representatives of the Immigration Service , Custom Service , NSCDC, Prison Service , NYSC, NOA and political parties attended the stakeholders meeting .