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Lagos supplementary poll: INEC meets security agencies, says it’s ready for exercise

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos State on Thursday met with various security agencies in the state to ensure successful supplementary election in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Federal Constituency on Saturday. INEC Spokesman, Femi Akinbiyi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after the meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) that the…

Election materials. PHOTO: Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos State on Thursday met with various security agencies in the state to ensure successful supplementary election in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Federal Constituency on Saturday.

INEC Spokesman, Femi Akinbiyi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after the meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) that the commission was ready to conclude the exercise.

NAN reports that the meeting, held at the INEC Office, Sabo-Yaba, had representatives of various security outfits including the Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in attendance.

Others at the meeting were representatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Department of State Security (DSS), the Nigerian Army, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Akinbiyi said the security agents had given assurance that there would be safety of men and materials for the election.

He said: “The commission is fully prepared for Saturday April 27 supplementary election in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Federal Constituency.

“Today, we held an Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) meeting on the issue, and at the end of the meeting, they (security agencies) assured the people of the affected area that there is going to be adequate security of men and materials for the elections.

“As such, people in the constituency should come out en masse and vote for the candidate of their choice,” Akinbiyi told NAN.

According to him, the supplementary election becomes imperative due to the margin of lead between the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and that of the All Progressives Congress in the Feb. 23 election.

“As a result of the court order that directed the commission to release the result of the election conducted on Feb. 23, the commission declared the result on April 17 and the election was declared inconclusive.

“This was because there were anomalies, over voting and non-compliance to the use of smart card readers in some polling units in the area.

“We have 71 polling units where the elections were cancelled for reason of over voting and violence,” he said.

These, he said, cut across eight registration areas (Wards), with the total registered voters in the affected areas being 43, 660.

According to him, the materials for the poll are in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and will be retrieved on Friday for onward movement to the constituency, then to the Registration Area Centres (RACs).

“We will retrain some of the ad hoc staff that will be engaged for the poll same Friday at the RACs. The smart card readers that will be used for the area have been reconfigured,” the Public Relations Officer said.

According to the commission, the affected areas are: Ward 02, Awodi Ora with three polling units; Ward 03, Wilmer with six polling units; Ward 04, Olodi with one polling unit and Ward 05, Tolu with 27 polling units.

Others are: Ward 07, Ojo Road with two polling units; Ward 09, Alaba-Oro with two polling units, Ward 10, Mosafejo with 18 polling units and Ward 11, Temidire 2 with 12 polling units.

The PDP candidate, Mrs Rita Orji polled 31, 982 votes, while Mr Kolawole Taiwo of the APC scored 28, 758 votes in the result declared by the commission for the Feb. 23 election.

The difference between PDP and APC is 3224.

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