By Eben Enasco Kingsley, Benin City
Ahead of the earlier aborted Edo State Gubernatorial Election the Independent National Electoral Commissioner Mr. Sam Olumekun on Thursday vowed to stick with the new date and conduct a free, fair and credible election as postponement of the State governorship election to September 28 would not have any negative effect on the outcome of the poll.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner made the avowal at the commission’s organized Stakeholders’ meeting while addressing stakeholders on its preparedness of the election in State.
Recall that, INEC had earlier postponed the governorship election from Sept. 10 to Sept. 28 following security advice from the Police and the Department of State Services.
Olumekun who further maintained that the commission was ready and willing to conduct free, fair, credible and conclusive election for Edo people frowned at political parties pointing accusing fingers on the commission’s call-off on the September 10 stipulated date appealed to the security agencies to deploy their personnel early enough to man their duty posts.
In his part, the Assistant Inspector-General, AIG, Zone 5, Police Edo State, Mr. Isaac Eke, said that security agencies would do everything humanly possible to give protection to the people during and after the election.
Eke who assured all the 19 political parties of a level playing ground during the electoral process however warned members of the public to eschew violence.
Similarly, the newly-deployed Commissioner of police Edo State, Mr. Haliru Gwandu, also appealed to political parties and their supporters to eschew violence and intimidation of electoral officials and ad-hoc staff whose primary duty was to conduct the elections while urging the people to stop seeing election as a do-or-die affair.
“Those who want to invite thugs from neighboring states should jettison the idea as security operatives are on ground to nip such plans in the bud,’’ he warned.
