The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says all is now set for Saturday’s by-election in Dekina-Okura constituency of Kogi.
The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Kogi, Mr Oliver Agundu, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja on Tuesday.
NAN reports that the by-election is sequel to the death of a former Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Enema Paul, on Dec.14, 2024, after a protracted illness.
Agundu, who spoke through INEC’s Education Officer, Mr. Haruna Haliru, said that the commission had held a meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
The meeting, he said, was aimed at mapping out plans to secure both the personnel and the materials during and after the election.
“All non-sensitive materials have been deployed to the local government, and we are only waiting for the arrival of the sensitive materials on Wednesday or Thursday.
“We have concluded the training of our supervisory presiding officers (SPOs) who are mainly INEC staff in readiness for the election,” he said.
Agundu stated that training had also been conducted for presiding officers (POs) and assistant presiding officers (APOs) in Anyigba between August 8 and August 10.
According to him, only five candidates from five political parties are contesting for the election.
The REC listed the parties as follows: Accord, African Democratic Congress (ADC), All Progressives Congress (APC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He assured all stakeholders in the constituency of a free, fair, transparent and credible election.
