From Gyang Bere, Jos
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has distributed sensitive and non-sensitive materials for the Plateau South Senatorial bye-election scheduled to hold Saturday, December 5.
Plateau State Resident Electoral Commissioner Mallam Halilu Pai, who received the materials on Thursday at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Branch, Jos, said that the Commission has nothing to hide.
He noted that the materials received include Form EC 8A (1), Form EC 8A, Form EC 8B, Form EC8C, Form EC8D, Form EC8E and Form EC60E.
‘We are here today in line with the policy of INEC to carry along all the stakeholders in the process of election. We are receiving the sensitive materials of ballots papers and result sheets for the 6 Local Government Areas and 68 registration areas, 712 polling units for 671209 registered voters in that constituency.
‘INEC will always carry the stakeholders along to show it’s transparency and accountability. These very sensitive materials will be shared in the presence of all stakeholders to the 6 LGA and political parties agents.
‘From here, the Mobile Police will escort these materials to the 6 Local Government Areas. You will take stock of the numbers of the sensitive materials and we will move from here to the LG, registration Centres and to the polling units.
‘We have nothing to hide, we are transparent and we want to be accountable, that is why we are in the presence of everybody sharing the materials,’ Mallam Pai stated.
A representative of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Pam Gyang, observed that some of the cartons containing the sensitive materials were not properly sealed.
He called on the Commission to allow agents of political parties at the Local Government and polling units to count those materials before they are disposed of.
The Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon Bashir Sati, complained that some political parties brought 10 to 15 agents to the distributing centre against the instruction of the INEC.
He, nevertheless, described the process as fair and called for a free, fair and credible election.
The Publicity Secretary of IPAC, Akpi Emerson, said agents of all political parties should be carried along the process, from the polling units to the collation centre.