Oyo State By-election: INEC receives sensitive materials from CBN

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Oyo State has received sensitive materials for Saturday’s by-election in Ibadan North Federal Constituency from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Oyo State, Dr Adeniran Tella, disclosed this in Ibadan on Friday while speaking with our correspondent shortly after receiving the materials.

Tella stated that the commission received ballot papers, result sheets and Forms 8A, 8B, 8C and 8D, among others.

The REC, however, said that the declaration sheet for the by-election had been sent directly to the commission’s office from Abuja on Thursday.

He explained that the materials would be escorted to the local government office and subsequently distributed to the respective registration areas.

Tella further described the commission’s level of preparedness for the by-election as having reached a good height.

“We have activated our work centres and put in place the transport union that will convey the materials.

“In terms of security, we have been having a constant engagement with the security agencies, even though they are part of the Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) members.

“They have come up with strategies on how they are going to carry out the strategic measures in an attempt to mitigate and curb any violence that may eventually erupt,” he said.

He, however, assured the general public that the by-election would be credible and free from violence.

Our correspondent reports that representatives of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) and four of the five participating political parties witnessed the receipt and movement of the materials.

The present political party representatives are: APGA, APC, PDP and ZLP.

IPAC representative, Mr Opeyemi Akinade, expressed satisfaction with the exercise, urging INEC to keep the tempo of transparency till the end of the by-election.

Similarly, the PDP and APC representatives, Mr Abiodun Popoola, and Alhaji Tajudeen Olanite, unanimously commended INEC for involving the parties in the process.

Popoola, affirming that all the sensitive materials were intact, said, “There is no problem, we are okay with what we’ve seen.”

On his part, Olanite charged INEC to ensure that the by-election did not experience any hitch.

Our correspondent also reports that the bye election will be held on Saturday at 512 polling units across Ibadan North Federal Constituency.

It is expected that 217,980 eligible voters will participate in the election to elect their representative in the green chamber of the National Assembly.