Military mans state boundaries, EFCC goes after vote buyers

There was a heavy presence of soldiers on the borders of Edo State with Kogi, Delta, Ondo and Anambra states on Thursday, ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in the South-South state.

In addition, about 100 operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had also been deployed in the state to forestall incidences of vote-buying during the poll.

A total of 17 political parties will be participating in the election with the All Progressives Congress candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party leading contenders in the election.

Detachments of soldiers and policemen were also observed along Akpapava Road, Ring Road, Sapele Road bypass, Ramat Park, Benin-Agbor Road and Oregbeni, a known dark spot in the city.

However, residents went about their businesses as the deployment did not dampen commercial activities at the Oba Market, Lagos Road, Mission Road, Forestry and Sakponba Road.

The Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the police contingent for the election, Frank Mba, said the deployment of military personnel to the state was meant to ensure a hitch-free poll.

“Like the IGP has already briefed Nigerians, the police will be deploying adequately for the Edo election. What we have done today (Wednesday) is to hold a meeting with the strategic commanders, DPOs, Area Commanders, Deputy Commissioners of Police and Commissioner of Police who are saddled with the task of providing leadership and supervision at the various levels.

“Our task is to provide a peaceful atmosphere for the conduct of a free, fair and credible election. We are working with sister agencies as we cannot work in isolation. The state shares borders with Kogi, Delta, Ondo and Anambra states, so the security will be adequately done. The Army will man these border areas that are far away while the Navy will also provide security on the waterways, while other security organisations will also work with us during the election,’’ he stated.

Speaking in an interview with The PUNCH, EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, said the Port Harcourt Zonal Director, Adebayo Adeniyi, would lead the anti-graft agency’s team in the state.

He said, “100 EFCC operatives were deployed to monitor the elections. Port Harcourt Zonal Director of the EFCC, Adebayo Adeniyi, leads the team.”

In readiness for the exercise, the Independent National Electoral Commission Thursday commenced the deployment of more than 5,000 Bimodal Voter Accreditation Systems and other sensitive materials for the election.

The electoral body distributed sensitive materials to the 18 local government areas of the state in the premises of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Akpakpava junction, Ring Road, Benin.

The hired vehicles that conveyed the materials to various locations were stationed beside the CBN, coming in one after the other to load the materials.

The electoral officers and the police were also on hand to accompany the materials to their various destinations.

The area was closed to commercial activities as the roads were cordoned off.

The State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Onuoha Anugbum, supervised the distribution of the material along with the INEC commissioner in the state.

Speaking to journalists, he said, “We are here at the Central Bank to send the sensitive materials to their various local governments. Before that, we signed the materials, took the political parties and the security agencies to observe. To the glory of God, all of them have seen the sensitive materials and we have sent them to the various local governments.

“We started with Edo North, then Edo Central before Edo South Senatorial District. We invited everyone; you know INEC has the tradition of carrying everybody along.

“The sensitive materials include results sheets, voting sheets, we call voting sheets form A, we have form B, is the ward collation results, form C, is the local government collation results,

“INEC had 13 programmes which were published on 26 September 2023. So far, we have executed 11 out of the 13 programmes and the 12th one ended today (Thursday). Today (Thursday) is the last day, the politicians are not expected to campaign again. So, the 13th one will end September 21.”

Parties applaud INEC

Party officials were also at the venue to monitor the distribution process.

Despite the early morning drizzle, the distribution team moved under the canopy set up for other stakeholders to continue the process.

Former Speaker of the Edo State House, Festus Ebea, who represented the APC, commended the distribution process and noted that the idea of distributing to Edo North was good.

He said that the distribution process was transparent, noting that the meeting with party officials on Wednesday when the materials got to the CBN made the distribution easier.

“The transparent nature of the distribution is commendable. We were also here on Wednesday when the materials arrived and the fact that the materials to far-flung areas are being distributed first is something we are happy with,” Ebea stated.

PDP chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, also noted that the party was happy that the Edo REC and the national commissioner in charge of the state were on the ground to sign the documents.

He said, “We are satisfied for now. The REC and the national Commissioner are on the ground to sign the forms needed to conduct the election and that is commendable. So far, so good for us in the PDP

“We will now call on the police to ensure that the materials get to the local government offices of the commission safely,” he added.

The Edo State INEC Public Relations Officer, Toyin Buoro, confirmed on Thursday that most of the electoral materials had been moved to the INEC offices in the local government areas.

She said, “I can confirm to you that the materials have all reached the local government area offices of the commission. I called before now and I was told that the one going to Akoko Edo arrived in Auchi safely.’’

An official at the INEC office in Oredo Local Government Area said the materials had reached the office for onward distribution to wards and polling units.

“We have received materials here and all hands are on deck to ensure that the materials get to the polling units on time,’’ he said.

The Edo State Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, Greg Igbinowahia, said the process of distributing material was transparent and that certain issues raised by stakeholders on Wednesday should be looked into.

INEC issued a reminder to all political parties contesting the election that all campaigns, which commenced April 24, must come to an end by midnight of Thursday.

In a statement signed by INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, on Thursday, the commission emphasised that the deadline was in line with section 94(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 and the official timetable and schedule of activities for the election.

“All campaigns by political parties end at midnight today, Thursday, September 19, 2024,” Olumekun said, warning that it would be illegal for any party to continue engaging in rallies, processions or media campaigns after the deadline.

The prohibition is backed by section 96 of the Electoral Act, which also outlines sanctions for violations.

The electoral body also reminded parties, candidates, and their supporters that they are prohibited from appearing at polling units in campaign attire or carrying campaign materials on election day.

“It is therefore illegal for any political party in Edo State to engage in rallies, processions or media campaigns from midnight today. These prohibitions, including sanctions, are provided for in Section 96 of the Electoral Act 2022.

“Similarly, on Election Day, Saturday 21st September 2024, parties, candidates and their supporters should not appear at the polling units in their campaign attires or carry any campaign materials with them,” he noted.

INEC urged all parties to comply with the legal provisions to ensure a smooth and peaceful election process in Edo State.

“We urge parties, candidates and their supporters to take note of the provisions of the law for compliance,” the statement added.

As the countdown to the poll continued, the PDP, APC and LP have expressed hopes of winning the contest.

LP’s Public Relations Officer, Sam Uruopa, said his party stood a chance of winning the election, having crisscrossed the state during the campaign.

He said the party candidate, Olumide Akpata, has the pedigree to take the state to greater heights.

He noted that the people should avoid voting for the APC and the PDP, parties who do not have the competence to move the state forward.

Also a PDP leader noted that the party candidate, Asue Ighodalo, had the experience to take the state to an enviable height.

According to him, they have done the hard part of the job, calling on the people to go out on Saturday and vote for PDP.