16th February, 2019
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday said the commission was ready for Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections in Gombe State.
Mr Umar Ibrahim, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, told newsmen that the commission had received all sensitive materials for the state and were being distributed.
Ibrahim said that sensitive materials for six out of the 11 Local Government Areas of the state had been sent out, adding that it was doing everything possible to ensure hitch-free distribution before Saturday morning.
“The situation in Gombe is fine. We received all materials needed and its distribution had commenced. In fact almost six out of the 11 Local Government Areas materials have gone out to the registration areas.
“We are set for tomorrow’s election. All the ballot papers we have received. So far, we don’t have any challenges whatsoever. We are not running behind schedule because we are not late in our distribution.
“The security arrangement is perfect. In each local government, our installations, offices and zonal stores are being manned by security personnel,’’ he said.
“There is no secrecy in the distribution of the materials. All the political parties’ agents were here and have observed our activities and everything is going on well.
Journalists were denied access into the premises of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) office in Gombe where sensitive materials were kept for distribution, for two hours before the REC’s attention was drawn to intervene.
It was observed that sensitive materials were still being loaded for distribution to their various destinations.