The Independent National Electoral Commission has said political parties, candidates, observers, security agencies, media houses and other stakeholders will be allowed to inspect sensitive materials before the commencement of the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State.
The INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, on Tuesday, disclosed this when he visited some local government INEC offices in the state, to assess their level of preparedness for the forthcoming election.
He said the inspection of the materials by major stakeholders would commence on Wednesday, November 13, before it would be moved to local government areas on Thursday, November 14.
Yakubu, who reiterated that the commission was prepared for the election, disclosed that sensitive materials would arrive on Tuesday.
He said “With 10 days to the election, the level of preparedness is very impressive.
“Very rarely will you find the commission this prepared before the election, that is why I’ve been going around local governments to see if they have everything they are supposed to have at this point.
“The only thing remaining is the sensitive materials which will arrive on Tuesday next week.
“On Wednesday, there will be an inspection of the sensitive materials by all parties, candidates, observers, security agencies, media houses and personnel in the commission, among others.
“On Thursday, we will commence the movement of the materials to local governments, beginning with the furthest to the nearest.
“There will be the same inspection in the local governments before we move it to the RAC centre and on Saturday morning, the election will commence,” he said.
Speaking, the Electoral Commissioner of Akure South LG, Mr Ezekiel Oyediran, confirmed the receipt of all the required non-sensitive materials for the election which, he said, had been dispatched to the registration areas and polling unit.
“Currently, we have received almost all the required non-sensitive materials for the election and they have been batched into Registration Areas and polling units.
“In conclusion, we are fully ready to conduct a free, fair, credible, inclusive and conclusive election in the forthcoming Ondo State governorship election,” he stressed.
Punch