By Myke Uzendu
To ensure the September 21 governorship election in Edo State is peaceful, the National Peace Committee chaired by former Head of State, General Abdusalami Abubakar organized the signing of peace accord among the 18 political parties and candidate.
This as as the Nigerian police disclosed the deployment of about 35,000 security personnel to ensure that both voters and officials are secured during the exercise.
The Chairman of Independent INEC Chairman, while speaking at the stakeholders’ meeting, which took place in Benin, capital of Edo State said, “I would like to remind you that tomorrow (today) Thursday 12th September 2024, the Peace Accord involving parties and candidates will be signed at 10.00am at this venue.
“Our respected former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar GCFR, will preside over the occasion in his capacity as the Chairman of the National Peace Committee.
“Some of you here may recall that exactly four years ago in September 2020, Edo State made history as the first State in Nigeria that the Peace Accord was signed ahead of a Governorship election.
“I trust that you will honour the Peace Committee by your presence here tomorrow and, most importantly, abide by the terms of the Accord for a peaceful election.”, he said.
The INEC boss reiterated that the commission to us committed to a transparent exercise by making available soft copies of the entire register of voters to each political party fielding candidates in the forthcoming election.
He assured that in the next few days, the Commission will publish the detailed breakdown of PVCs collected for each of the 4,519 Polling Units across the State.
All uncollected PVCs, the Chairman assured, will be mopped up from the 18 Local Government Areas and warehoused in the Central Bank of Nigeria until after the Governorship election.
In the words of Prof Yakubu, “We have already published the final list of candidates. However, there are two adjustments to the list.
“By court order, the Commission has replaced the running mate to the candidate of the Labour Party.
“Similarly, the National Rescue Movement (NRM) which could not file its nomination on schedule has obtained a court order to compel the Commission to include the party on the ballot. We have complied with the court order.
“Consequently, 18 political parties are now participating in the 2024 Edo State Governorship election.
“The updated list of parties and candidates is contained in the information booklet circulated at this meeting.
“Following the conclusion of the recent Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in Edo State and the cleaning up of the data, 184,438 Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) were delivered to Edo State.
“This figure is made up of 119,206 new voters and 65,232 verified applications for transfer into Edo from other States of the Federation, transfer within Edo State, cards reprinted after corrections of personal details or the replacement of lost or damaged cards as provided by law.
“We have already published the details on our website for public information. I must commend all stakeholders in Edo State for the level of mobilisation for the voter registration and collection of PVCs.”, he said.
Meanwhile, The Inspector General of Police, Dr. Kayode Egbetokun declared that no fewer than 35,000 police personnel would be deployed for the Edo State governorship election.
Egbetokun said the police will be supported by about 8,000 other security personnel drawn from other sister security agencies.
Residents of Edo will be going to the poll on Saturday 21 September 2024 to elect a new governor. Godwin Obaseki second term in office is coming to an end.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Benin, the police boss also directed all local security apparatus within Edo State to stay clear from interfering with electoral security functions.
He warned that any individual or group engaging in unauthorized security activities will face immediate arrest and prosecution.
