The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has debunked reports circulating online that a staff member was caught with pre-filled result sheets during Saturday’s bye-election in Enugu State.
The commission described the reports as “fake news” in a statement shared across its social media channels.
The online reports, based on eyewitness accounts, claimed that a man was apprehended with result sheets showing 443 votes pre-allocated to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), 31 votes to the All Progressives Congress (APC), and 15 votes to the Labour Party candidates for the Igboeze North/Udenu Federal Constituency.
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But INEC denied the claims, stating that the individual in question is not an employee of the commission and is “unknown” to them.
The commission urged the public to disregard the report.
“FAKE NEWS ALERT!!! Our attention has been drawn to some fake narratives circulating on the social media that a certain employee of the Commission was caught in Enugu State with a pre-filled result sheet for the rerun election held today.
“However, the said individual is not an employee of INEC. He is unknown to the Commission. The public should disregard the report,” said the electoral umpire.
The statement came after the suspension of rerun elections in specific constituencies across Enugu, Kano, and Akwa Ibom States due to disruptions, irregularities, and the abduction of election officials.
The affected areas include Enugu South 1 State Constituency, Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency in Akwa Ibom, and Kunchi/Tsanyawa State Constituency in Kano.
The electoral body announced the suspension in a statement signed by its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun.
The decision followed earlier reports of violence and electoral material theft in these states.
In Enugu South 1 Constituency, elections were suspended in all eight polling units where the original result sheets were unavailable for voter inspection before the commencement of polls.
INEC was scheduled to conduct bye and rerun elections in 80 Local Government Areas (LGAs) across 26 states, filling vacancies in three senatorial districts, 17 federal constituencies, and 28 state constituencies.
The exercise involved over 4.9 million registered voters across nearly 9,000 polling units.