By Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Bauchi State on Wednesday began the distribution of sensitive materials to the 20 Local Government Areas of the state for Saturday’s Governorship and State Assembly elections.
The materials, kept in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), include Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, election result sheets and ballot papers.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Alhaji Mohammed Nura, said that the early distribution of the materials was to guard against any shortfalls of materials on the election day.
He said: “The reason for early distribution is to have knowledge of any shortfalls of the materials, so we can revert back to our headquarters in Abuja for necessary actions before the election.
“That is why we invited all stakeholders to witness the exercise, in order to forestall any impression by anybody of any wrongdoing by the commission.”
The distribution of the materials was monitored by security agencies, including the police, Army and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The other agencies at hand include the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Department of State Services (DSS), among other stakeholders.
