The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has alleged that
some unseen forces were responsible for the late arrival of officials and election materials in some polling units for Saturday’s Kogi governorship election.
The state INEC Voter Education and Publicity Officer, Mr Haliru Sule, revealed this in Lokoja on Saturday, saying “INEC made adequate preparations for this off circle governorship election, yet we still experienced some hitches here and there.
“To us these hitches are deliberate sabotage by some unseen forces.
“We didn’t expect the sudden dearth of vehicles that could transport our Adhoc staff and materials to their respective polling units.
“But all the same, we tried our best and overcame the challenges, which gave room for smooth and peaceful conduct of the election,” he said.
He added: “We are confident that at the end of the exercise, it would be said that it was free, fair, credible and successful.
“We are appreciative of the efforts of the security operatives at giving our personnel and the electorates adequate security cover for a peaceful and successful election.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of security in the Kogi Governorship Election, Mr Habu Sani, has described as peaceful as no security breach has been reported.
The DIG made the disclosure in Lokoja on Saturday, adding that from all indications, the electorate and political actors in the poll were behaving well.
“As it’s now, there’s no report of breach of security from any part of Kogi.
“We thank God that what we have been praying for is indeed manifesting to show a sharp deviation from past experiences in Kogi.
“We urge residents to maintain this peace even after the election so that Kogi can continue to experience the desired growth and development as a state, ” he said.
