A stakeholders’ forum was held in Benin City, the Edo State capital in preparation for Saturday’s governorship election.
The forum was organized by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as part of activities geared towards a free, fair and credible exercise.
It was gathered that all the 19 candidates of the various political parties taking part in the election are attending the meeting.
In his remarks, Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman said commission had taken every necessary step to ensure the success of the election as 18,511 electoral officers have been trained & deployed for the exercise.
He added that there will be simultaneous accreditation and voting, reiterating that the Permanent Voter Card, PVC, remains the only means for voting.
With respect to the frequent cases of malfunctioning card readers, the INEC boss explained that the “SCRs (Smart Card Readers) have been reconfigured and re-charged” and should work optimally on Election Day.
Yakubu also cautioned “High profile voters” to “exercise their franchise in their designated polling units and thereafter respect themselves and return home.”
“No voter entitled to security protection shall be accompanied by armed security personnel to the polling unit.
“Armed escorts would not be allowed at any Polling Unit during the election. This is against the provisions of the Electoral Act,” he said.
The INEC chairman added that “All election duty personnel are expected to work within the confines of the law” as “any violator would be adequately dealt with.”
He said: “We appeal to those involved in the election to assist INEC in ensuring the safety of all election officials.
“We appeal to political parties to eschew violence and avoid intimidation of voters on Election Day.
“So far, the atmosphere in Edo state has been peaceful since the campaign began. We hope it remains same on Election Day.
“It is my hope that the election in Edo State would be a shining example of our democratic system,” Mahmood concluded.
The stakeholders’ meeting also witnessed the signing of a peace pact by the governorship aspirants, pledging to work for peace before, during and after the election process.
Representatives of both the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, and the Inspector-General of Police, also spoke at the forum.
It was gathered that One governorship candidate as well as 8 deputy governorship candidates for the Edo State election are women.