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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the withdrawal of sensitive electoral materials from the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following the failed presidential attempts of its Governor, GodwinEmefiele.
Chairman of the commission Prof Mahmood Yakub made the disclosure in Abuja at a symposium with the theme “The Electorate: A Conversation on Elections in Nigeria”.
Giving an update on the preparation for the Ekiti governorship election, Yakubu said that in the interim, the CBN will no longer be in charge of election materials beginning with the Ekiti state poll.
He specifically disclosed that the commission took the decision to prevent such materials from being compromised.
The decision by INEC to withdraw the sensitive materials from the CBN’s custody could not be far from the failed Presidential attempt by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.
The Chairman of the Commission was asked about the warehousing of election materials with the CBN in view of the issues surrounding the Governor’s declared political interest, he acknowledged the concerns raised by citizens relating to the issue considering the sensitive nature of election materials and the need for trust and confidence in the electoral process.
“In respect of the Ekiti Governorship election holding on June 18, 2022, the Commission will deliver all the sensitive materials meant for the election directly to our office in Ado-Ekiti and distributed them to the 16 Local Government Areas of the State. The Commission is looking at the same situation with regard to the Osun governorship election holding on June 16, 2022.
“However, the direct delivery of the sensitive materials to Ekiti and Osun are interim measures pending further discussions with the CBN ahead of the 2023 General Election. I commend the handling of materials by CBN since the collaboration started as there has not been a single incident of failure in that regard,” he said.
