Osun Guber Poll: INEC Creates Over 3000 New Polling Units To Ease Exercise

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, osun election 2014, Politics Saturday, August 2nd, 2014

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has created additional 3, 379 polling units in Osun, preparatory to the state’s next Saturday Gubernatorial election.

State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Olusegun Agbaje stated this on Friday at a press briefing in Osogbo, the state capital.

The decision, Mr Agabje explained was sequel to concern emanating from congestion on the register of some polling units. Specifically, he said some polling units with total of 3,010 voters were being split into three units of about 1,500 registered voters. This, he added was to ensure that all the voting units were left with an average of 500 voters.

While assuring the residents of a free and credible poll, the REC informed that a total of 10, 432 corps members from the state, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara, Oyo and Kogi National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) as ad hoc staff have been engaged. The state INEC Chief warned the electoral body staff and corps members not to allow themselves to be used by the politicians.

Mr Agbaje also informed that out of 1,407,222 registered voters, 960,124 had collected their permanent voter cards (PVCs) and would be eligible to vote while 450,560 were yet to collect to turn up, hinting further that a total of 745,828 representing 53 per cent of the total registered voters were females while 661,394 which is about 47 per cent of the voters were males.

He denied rumour of working with, and for a particular candidate in the Saturday, August 9, election.

Meanwhile, the state ruling party, All Progressives Party (APC) has again raised alarm on plan and alleged connivance by officials of the state INEC with opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) stalwarts to rig the poll.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said under the plan, some INEC IT staff have allegedly handed over the entire electoral registers for the state to a Special Assistant to a top opposition national official, “with a view to manipulating it to disenfranchise many voters”.

”For those who may see this as outlandish, they should recall that an INEC official tampered with the voters register used during the last gubernatorial election in Anambra State to remove the names of many voters,’’ APC recalled.

The party also alleged that the plan to tamper with the electoral register for Osun, coupled with INEC’s delayed in issuing PVCs to registered voters, especially its members.

It therefore called on Osun residents, its members and supporters to be “very vigilant in order to thwart the evil machinations of those who are averse to credible and violence-free elections”.