The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said it will go ahead with Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State as planned.

This was disclosed  by the commission’s Director of Publicity and Voters’ Education, Oluwole Ozzi, on Thursday.

“We are going ahead with the election,” Oluwole said in a short text message.

The commission had earlier said it was carrying out wide consultations after it was advised by the police and the Department of State Services, DSS, to postpone the election.

The security agencies said that the advice was based on credible intelligence at their disposal, that insurgents were planning to attack communities and soft targets with high population during the forthcoming Sallah celebrations between September 12 and 13.

According to them, Edo State is one of the states that have been earmarked for these planned attacks.

In a joint statement, the police and the DSS reminded the public that similar threats were earlier issued during the Labour Day and Democracy Day celebrations as well as the Eid-el-Fitr holidays in July, 2016.

Earlier on Monday, some candidates of the West African Examination Council, WAEC, writing the General Certificate Examination, GCE, in Edo State demanded for a shift in the date of the governorship election as it clashed with the date of their exams.

Some of them staged a protest at the Government House in Benin City, the capital of Edo State, with placards stating their demand.