INEC raises security concerns over Edo governorship election

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

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, raised the fear when he appeared before the joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters on Thursday in Abuja.

He was invited by the lawmakers to update them on INEC’s preparations for the off-cycle elections in Edo and Ondo States.

Yakubu lamented that the commission’s main concern in the Edo governorship election was security.

He said: “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.

“We agreed to meet with all political parties in the state and the commissioner of police told us 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.”

On preparation for the elections, the INEC chief added: “We have conducted continuous voter registration. A few of the registered voters require validation.”

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

Yakubu pointed out 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 to conduct than general elections.

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

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