From Judex Okoro, Calabar
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has deployed sensitive materials for the December 5 bye-election in Cross River State.
The election is for the vacant Cross River North Senatorial District and the Obudu State Constituency.
Speaking in Calabar while retrieving the materials from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, assured of the integrity of the polls.
He said competing parties have been invited to inspect the materials in order to be assured of the integrity of the elections.
‘All representatives of parties, media, and stakeholders have been invited to see all the materials. Everything is intact, transparent, open and they have not been tampered with,’ he said.
‘All the Local Government agents have inspected; we have the full complement of the security agencies and we are good to go.’
Emmanuel Hart, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Cross River State, said the materials will move in a convoy and will be tracked.
Also speaking, CP Gabriel Ayodele Oguntuase, CP Elections, from Force Headquarters Abuja, said the police have been fully deployed for the elections.
The Cross River State Chairman of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Anthony Bisong, said the party was satisfied with arrangements made by the Commission so far.
He said the party will keep monitoring the movement of the materials to ensure they get to their destination.