INEC Relocates Staff To Old Office, Reprints 65,699 PVCs Burnt In Ogun Attack

Following Thursday’s attack on its office in Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has relocated members of staff to its old office in the state.

Hoodlums had simultaneously set fire to the commission’s offices in Abeokuta in Ogun and Ede South Local Government Area of Osun State.

While the attack on the Osun office caused minimal damage, the Abeokuta office was completely burnt down along with 65,699 uncollected Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), 904 ballot boxes, 29 voting cubicles, 30 megaphones, 57 election bags, and 8 electric generators.

Speaking at an emergency security meeting of INEC’s Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) on Friday, the commission’s chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, said they suspect that the two attacks were coordinated.

He however noted that INEC will take “urgent steps to repair the damage to the building and replace the facilities in the Ede South Local Government Area (of Osun) so that the office becomes functional again immediately.

“For Abeokuta South Local Government Area office, the destruction was total. Consequently, the Commission is relocating our staff to the old State office (also known as INEC Office Annex) in Oke-Ilewo area of Abeokuta. All activities involving the 15 Registration Areas (Wards) and 445 Polling Units in Abeokuta South Local Government Area will henceforth be coordinated from the new location in Oke-Ilewo. Similarly, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Ogun State has been directed to compile the Voter Identification Numbers (VINs) of all the 65,699 Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) lost in the attack from our database and submit the record for immediate reprint. We want to assure affected registered voters in Abeokuta South that no one will be disenfranchised as a result of this dastardly act.”

Yakubu further frowned on reports of increasing physical attacks on supporters of different political parties during the ongoing political campaigns and rallies in the country.

He said INEC, “has so far tracked fifty incidents across 21 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory. These unhappy occurrences are coming just a little over one month into the election campaign which is scheduled to last for about five months from 28th September 2022 to 23rd February 2023 for national elections (Presidential and National Assembly) and from 12th October 2022 to 11th March 2023 for State elections (Governorship and Houses of Assembly). The Commission is worried that if no urgent and decisive steps are taken, the attacks will intensify as we approach the election date. As we all know, a peaceful campaign heralds a peaceful election. We need to take decisive steps to stem the ugly trend.”

Yakubu charged the ICCES whose membership includes the national security adviser, inspector-general of police, and heads and representatives of various security agencies, to immediately address the problem by apprehending and prosecuting perpetrators according to provisions of the law.