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• Urges IGP, DSS, others to fortify state collection centres •Postpones, fixes election in 4 Bayelsa wards today • Reps poll in Edo Esan North, South, Igueben to hold with State Assembly poll March 11 • Says collation of results will begin 12 noon today
From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commis- sion (INEC) has admitted that multiple challenges of logistics, insecurity across the country, thuggery and snatching of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) characterised the presidential and National Assembly election yesterday.
The commission also said that complaints from political parties over insufficient polling units agents, snatch- ing of no fewer than eight BVAS machines were also recorded.
INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, who made the disclosure at a press briefing at the National Collation Centre in Abuja yesterday, lamented that both political thugs, bandits and insurgents tried to disrupt the poll in some states like Delta, Niger, Imo, Abia, Borno and Katsina states.
Explaining the insecurity challenges, Yakubu disclosed that thugs attacked electoral officials in some areas like Safana, Katsina, Shiroro in Niger State, Osimiri in Delta State, among others, resulting in the lost of a total number of eight BVAS machines.
He, however, blamed the political parties on the lapses noticed in the shortage of polling units agents, insisting that the factors have contributed in the delay in commencement of voting in some areas.
He also announced the postponement of the election in four wards in Yenagoa, Bayelsa to today (Suday) following the disruption of the election by political thugs.
Yakubu also added that House of Representatives election in Esan North, South and Igueben in Edo State will now be held along with the State Assembly poll on March 11.
The electoral umpire chairman, however, appealed to Nigerians to expect the commencement of the collation for presidential poll by 12:00p.m on Sunday.
He urged the head of security agencies to mobilise personnel to secure Local Government Area and State collation centres to check-mate any attack on electoral, materials, insisting that de- spite complaints, the BVAS worked optimally.
Apart from the challenges he enumerated that confronted the poll, delay in the arrival of the materials and commencement of the election, the protests from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) corps members and members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in reporting and conveying materials to polling units also characterized the polls, especially in Abuja.
Announcing that security agents were able to recover three BVAS machines and even restore sanity in some of the areas attacked, Yakubu said: “Let me inform Ni- gerians about how the election processes have gone, the challenges we have encountered and the measures we have taken to address these challenges.
“We and friends of Nigerians around the world are aware that today is election day in Nigeria. From our situation room, we have been observing the processes nationwide and have been receiving reports from state offices. As Nigerians are aware, the prevailing context for the conduct of the election is challenging. But there is also a sheer determination on the part of the com- mission to ensure that the elections hold under free, fair, credible (environment).
“As most Nigerians are aware, this is the first time since 2011 that a general election has not been postponed as scheduled. It is part of the commission’s determination to ensure
