Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said yesterday that it was concerned about the safety of lives and property before, during and after the off cycle governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states.
Speaking at its quarterly consultative meeting with media executives, he said the recent incident in Edo State leading to the death of security personnel was worrisome.
Yakubu said although there had been no report of any further security breach in the state after the incident, the commission had scheduled a meeting with leaders of the security agencies to discuss security concerns in the run off to the conduct of the two elections.
He said: “Campaign by political parties and candidates is in full swing in Edo and Ondo states. The commission finds the recent event in Edo State resulting in the death of a security personnel worrisome.
“Happily, there has been no incident known to the commission since then. Nevertheless, the commission will meet with the security agencies as early as Friday this week under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES). I want to assure you that security in Edo and Ondo will be a major issue for discussion at the meeting.
“We are as concerned about the safety of your personnel and equipment just as we are about the security of our own officials, observers, service providers and, above all, the voters. We will also work with the security agencies to ensure accredited journalists are granted unimpeded access to all voting and collation locations.’’
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Yakubu added: “As the Edo State governorship election approaches, I wish to remind media organisations that the portal for media accreditation (https://imap.inecnigeria.org) is still open. As at 8.02am today, Wednesday 31st July 2024, 24 media organisations representing print, radio, television and online have uploaded the details of 227 personnel for the election.
“I urge you to expedite action by ensuring interested media organisations submit their applications before the deadline of Thursday 5th September 2024. This will enable the commission produce and deliver the accreditation tags for your reporters, camera operators, technical and other support workers in good time for the election.”