Victor EzejaThe Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the suspension of ongoing re-run elections in some constituencies in Akwa Ibom, Enugu and Kano States due to disruptions, irregularities and abduction of election officials.
This was confirmed in a statement released on Saturday afternoon signed by Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner & Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, INEC.
The Commission had earlier said it was investigating reports of disruptions in some locations in Akwa Ibom, Enugu and Kano.
The electoral body had fixed today, February 3, for bye and rerun elections in 80 Local Government Areas (LGAs) across 26 states of the federation.
The elections are conducted to replace members who died or resigned their memberships of the national and state assemblies, as well as rerun elections at designated constituencies or polling units (PUs) as ordered by the election appeal tribunals.
The commission said a total of 4,613,291 Nigerians who have collected their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) were expected to participate in the exercise.
States where the elections will hold include: Ebonyi, Yobe, Kebbi, Lagos, Ondo, Taraba, Benue, Borno, Kaduna, Plateau, Akwa Ibom, and Anambra.
According to the INEC spokesperson, the affected areas are as follows:
“Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency, Akwa Ibom State Suspension of elections in two Polling Units (Village Hall, Edem Urua 003 in Ini LGA and Village Hall Mbiabong Ikot Udo 003 in Ikono LGA) where all election materials were carted away by hoodlums.
“Enugu South 1 State Constituency, Enugu State Suspension of elections in all eight Polling Units where the original results sheets were not available for inspection by voters before the commencement of polls.
“Kunchi/Tsanyawa State Constituency, Kano State Suspension of elections in all ten Polling Units in Kunchi LGA due to invasion, vandalization, and disruption by thugs.”
The statement said the decision of the Commission aligns with the provisions of Section 24(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
It added that further necessary measures to be adopted for the affected constituencies will be announced after the Commission’s meeting on Monday.
INEC called on security agencies to investigate the incidents, adding that the electoral body is committed to “thoroughly interrogating any breaches involving its officials.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
