The Independent National Electoral Commission has lamented
the serial fire attacks on its offices in some states, especially in the
South-East geopolitical zone.
INEC, however, stated that it will continue with its
operations in the areas affected while summoning all Resident Electoral
Commissioners across the states to an emergency meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.
The National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and
Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, made this known in a statement issued
on Friday and titled ‘INEC Local Government Area in Enugu State Set Ablaze.’
The statement partly read, “The spate of fire incidents
involving the facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission in
some states of the federation has unfortunately persisted. This time around, it
is Enugu State, where the Resident Electoral Commissioner for the state, Emeka
Ononamadu, has reported that the INEC office in Udenu Local Government Area was
set ablaze.
“The latest tragic incident occurred around 8.40pm on
Thursday, 13th May 2021. No casualties were reported. However, the office
building was extensively damaged while electoral materials and office equipment
were destroyed in spite of the best efforts of the Enugu State Fire Service to
contain the inferno. The commission appreciates the intervention of the Fire
Service.
“The attention of the Police has been drawn to this yet
another very worrisome development for investigation.”
INEC noted that it was the third incident involving INEC’s
LGA offices in three states in less than two weeks.
“First, there was the destruction of the office in Essien
Udim LGA of Akwa Ibom State on 2nd May 2021. This was followed by the fire at
the Ohafia LGA office in Abia State on 9th May 2021,” the commission said.
The statement further read, “This is yet another setback to
the commission’s ongoing activities and preparations for upcoming electoral
activities.
“Following the attack in Abia State, the commission resolved
to convene an emergency meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on
Election Security next week to discuss this disturbing trend. The latest
destruction of the commission’s physical infrastructure and electoral
facilities in Enugu State calls for an immediate review of the measures
necessary to secure INEC’s assets across the states.
“Consequently, the Commission is convening an emergency
meeting with all the Resident Electoral Commissioners on Wednesday, 19th May
2021, in Abuja ahead of the meeting of ICCES.
“Meanwhile, the commission is determined to continue to
discharge its responsibilities, including the conclusion of the expansion of
voters’ access to Polling Units, resumption of the Continuous Voter
Registration, capacity-building activities, the review of the draft Strategic
Plan 2022-2026, engagement with stakeholders as well as all scheduled and
pending elections.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com