The Chairman of the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC), Jibril Imam, has assured residents that insecurity will not prevent them from participating in the forthcoming local government election slated for November 1.
Imam gave the assurance on Thursday, October 30, during the distribution of sensitive election materials in Minna.
He stated that the commission had made adequate preparations, including providing boats and other logistics, to ensure that materials reached riverine and hard-to-reach communities on time.
“Nobody in the local government areas where there are banditry activities will be disenfranchised, and we have provided boats to ensure that election materials get to riverine communities on time.
“The commission is ready for the election in partnership with the security agencies,” Imam said.
Some parts of Niger State have been plagued by bandit attacks in recent years, with residents of Alawa Local Government Area particularly affected. Many of them have fled their homes and now live in internally displaced persons’ camps.
Speaking further, Imam revealed that sensitive materials were being moved early to prevent last-minute logistical challenges, while non-sensitive materials had already been delivered to all 25 Local Government Electoral Officers.
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“The materials are being distributed to the 4,950 polling units, 274 wards, and the 25 local government areas, consisting of both councillorship and chairmanship election materials for the elections.
“In every polling unit and ward, including the 25 local governments, we have ad hoc staff on the ground as returning officers, supervisors, and polling clerks,” Imam said.
According to him, the commission had deployed 5,249 trained ad hoc staff to manage the exercise across the state.
Imam explained that all constitutional procedures had been duly followed to avoid disputes and commended political parties and security agencies for their cooperation.
He also urged political actors to maintain peace during the polls, reminding them of the peace accord signed ahead of the elections.
The NSIEC boss reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to a transparent and credible election process, assuring voters of a level playing field across all local government areas.