Sensitive electoral materials have arrived in Osun State ahead of Saturday’s governorship election, with the Independent National Electoral Commission disclosing that it will draw ad-hoc personnel from a pool of more than 30,000 members of the National Youth Service Corps.
The development came as security agencies intensified preparations for the August 15 poll, with no fewer than 25,310 personnel from the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission deployed across the state.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, disclosed the commission’s deployment plans in an interview on Monday, while giving an update on preparations for the election.
Oketola said INEC had more than 30,000 NYSC members available from which it would select the ad-hoc personnel required for the election, although he declined to disclose the exact number that would eventually be deployed.
“For number of ad-hoc staff, INEC will be pulling from a pool of over 30,000 NYSC members that we’re working with for the election,” he said.
According to the commission, 2,339,233 voters are registered in Osun State and are eligible to participate in Saturday’s election.
Oketola, however, said he was unable to provide the latest figure for voters who had collected their Permanent Voter Cards following the extension of the PVC collection exercise.
“Meanwhile, 2,339,233 voters are registered in Osun. So, I’m not sure, you know, we extended PVC collection. I don’t have the data of the number of PVC collected,” he said.
Oketola disclosed that sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials had already arrived in the state, with the sensitive materials, including ballot papers and Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices, secured at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He explained that INEC would not disclose the exact time the sensitive materials arrived in Osun or provide details of their movement because of security considerations.
“Right now, sensitive materials are already in Osun. Nobody will tell you when materials arrived Osun. What is most important is that they have arrived. You see, logistics is complex,” Oketola stated.
He said the commission would begin moving non-sensitive materials to the local government areas and Registration Area Centres from Thursday, while the sensitive materials would be moved from the CBN to local government offices on Friday.
“Well, that is the standard, by Thursday we start moving non-sensitive and I mean the remaining non-sensitive materials. The sensitive materials that are ballot papers and all of that will be moved on Friday from the CBN to the local government offices,” he explained.
According to him, security personnel, electoral officers and other relevant officials would be involved in the movement of the sensitive materials.
“The police, security agents, electoral officers will be invited to the CBN where sensitive materials such as ballot papers and BVAs will be distributed and moved to the local government offices,” he said.
Oketola said Registration Area Centres would open on Friday, with sensitive and non-sensitive materials subsequently moved to the centres alongside ad-hoc personnel and security agents.
He said vehicles required for the movement of personnel and materials would also be positioned ahead of Election Day to ensure that polling units opened on time.
“So, by Friday, RAC centres will open, sensitive materials will move to the RACs and non-sensitive materials will also be moved, including ad hoc staff and security agents. This is including all the vehicles that will move them on election day,” he said.
He added that the logistics arrangement was designed to ensure that all personnel and materials reached their designated locations before voting commenced.
“This is to ensure that we are able to deploy men and materials on Election Day and then polling gap opens by 8.30am,” Oketola stated.
The commission is also making provisions for other logistical requirements, including generators, water tanks and other equipment needed to support the electoral process.
Oketola said the volume of materials and equipment involved meant that they could not all be transported to Osun at the same time.
“We are going to deploy generators in their numbers to Osun. They are going to deploy water tankers, I mean, water tanks and all sorts of materials, including sensitive materials. These things cannot get to Osun on the same day,” he said.
He reiterated that the sensitive electoral materials had been secured at the CBN and that information concerning their movement would be kept confidential to prevent security breaches.
“The sensitive materials, which are very critical, are warehoused in the CBN. Nobody in any country can tell you that this was when they brought them there,” Oketola said.
He explained that revealing the movement schedule could expose the materials and personnel to attacks.
“This is logistics. And of course it is also about security. If we tell the public, I will tell you where and when they will be moved. Don’t you know they can be ambushed? So, what is most important is that those things are already in Osun,” he added.
The commission’s latest update comes as preparations intensify for Saturday’s governorship election, with electoral officials, security agencies and political stakeholders finalising arrangements for the conduct of the poll across the state.
