The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has expressed concerns over the rising political tension in Edo State ahead of the September 21 governorship election.
Speaking at a quarterly meeting with political party leaders in Abuja, Yakubu called attention to the recent attack on the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Edo State, which resulted in the death of a security officer.
With 53 days to the election, Yakubu noted that some political parties had yet to submit the list of their polling and collation agents, warning that the portal would close on Tuesday.
He also announced that only 14 political parties had uploaded details of their polling agents and collation agents for the Edo election, while three parties had yet to upload a single polling agent.
Yakubu called for compliance with stipulated rules and guidelines to ensure a smooth process, and assured that security in Edo and Ondo states would be a major issue to discuss at the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security meeting.
The INEC chairman also revealed that additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines had been provided to Edo State for the training of election duty personnel and contingency support on election day.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, Yusuf Dantalle, called for the immediate scrapping of the States Independent Electoral Commissions, describing their conduct of elections as “an aberration, dent, and mockery of our emerging democracy.”
