Wole Balogun, Ado Ekiti
The accreditation exercise for the All Progressive Congress (APC) primary in Ekiti State is ongoing at the Damlek events centre on Afao Road, Ado Ekiti, the state capital, amid high security.
The exercise began at 8 a.m. with a possibility that voting by delegates would commence by 12 noon.
Checkpoints for screening delegates, agents, aspirants and journalists among others are about six.
Everyone is made to line up for the screening, with stern-looking, heavily armed security men taking their time to check for identity cards and tags to properly identify anyone before people are allowed in.
About half a kilometre to the venue, up to four security checkspoints are lined up, with the agents, heavily armoured, spread across the road, and keeping a keen eye on anyone coming through.
As you pass along the four checkpoints and make your way through the gate of the venue, there are three other checkpoints being manned by heavily armed security agents, which include the police, vigilante groups and officials of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), among others.
Inside the hall, where voting is taking place, a proper organisation is evident, as delegates and aspirants’ agents are placed close to the voting area, but separated by demarcations.
Journalists and aspirants are removed from the arena and camped in the gallery where they can have an aerial view of what is happening at the voting arena.
With such arrangement, journalists have easy access to aspirants while the exercise goes on.
Details later…
