INEC expresses readiness for Kogi rerun

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Monday, said it is ready for the rerun  in Kogi East senatorial district of Kogi State, slated for July 23.

This is just as the commission said it would deploy at least, 1,390 adhoc staff for the  rerun to be held across the senatorial district.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr Samuel Usman, who said this in Lokoja, the state capital, said the commission had put necessary machinery in place for a smooth  rerun.

According to him, the date of the rerun was arrived at after due consultations with relevant stakeholders both at the state and national levels, on the conditions necessary for the re-run  in the zone.

Usman explained that the local government areas that would participate in the rerun  are Ankpa, Bassa, Dekina, Ibaji and Idah, Igalamela/Odolu, Ofu and Olamaboro.

He added that the state constituency re-run  would be conducted in one polling unit out of 89 in Idah, while in Ofu election will be conducted in 79 polling units out of 129.

The REC noted that the commission had learnt from the previous exercises, saying such lessons would be used to improve upon its past performance.

He also assured that INEC would continue to encourage mass participation in the electoral process as the  current commission is poised to meet the global best practices.

He added that Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), would be used during the exercise, warning that anybody without PVC should steer clear of the polling and collation centres

Usman said security agencies had  vowed to secure the election and deal decisively with hoodlums, who would disrupt the process.