Nigeria’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said it “was not aware of any missing sensitive election materials” in Anambra State, Southern Nigeria ahead of the November 18 governorship election in the state.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Nkwachukwu Orji, who made this known in a statement on Wednesday, November 8, said the Commission had not received any official report on the incident.
Orji’s statement was in response to the sensitive election materials allegedly found in a hotel in Awka, the Anambra state capital on Monday, November 6.
The INEC REC said there are processes for the delivery of sensitive election materials, noting that it involves strict monitoring of by party agents, election observers, security agencies and the media.
Reacting to the alleged printing of voters’ register, Orji said what the police recovered appeared to have been printed from the electronic register given to the political parties and not the official register of voters for the governorship election.
The REC reassured the public that the Commission would continue to be transparent in its duty.
The statement reads: “The attention of INEC has been drawn to publications in the media about statements allegedly made by the chairman of one of the political parties that two lorry loads of sensitive materials meant for the 18 November governorship election in Anambra State have been intercepted by the police in an undisclosed hotel in Awka.
“It is also alleged that the police arrested two persons in connection with the incident. It has equally come to the notice of the commission that the police recovered large quantities of what looked like the register of voters meant for the 18 November governorship election in Anambra State from some individuals in a hotel in Awka, Anambra State, on November 6.
“It is not clear to the commission whether these two alleged incidents are related, but the commission wishes to state that it is not aware of any missing sensitive election material and has not received any official report in that regard”, it added.
