Less than 14 hours to the commencement of the presidential and National Assembly election to be organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the ballot papers, result sheets and other sensitive materials for the presidential election in Oyo State as well as Oyo Central Senatorial district election are yet to arrive the state capital in Ibadan.
Tribune Online gathered that forms EC8A1 for the senatorial election in all the voting points created by the (INEC in all the three senatorial districts in the state are also not available for delivery to election officials.
The materials, it was gathered, were discovered missing when INEC officials and representatives of the various political parties in the state got to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) office in Ibadan, on Friday morning, to take delivery of the documents.
The non-availability of the vital materials, it was gathered, poses a grave threat to the conduct of the election in the state tomorrow, as some party representatives have resolved never to sign for the delivery of the documents so far brought unless INEC produces all the pending materials.
As of 4:00 p.m. today, Friday, the state Resident Electoral Commission (REC), Mutiu Agboke, told journalists that the materials were in Lagos where they were expected to be transported to Ibadan for onward sorting and delivery to the councils and polling units.
Findings showed that as of 6.20 p.m., the materials had still not arrived the state capital for onward distribution to the affected local governments.
“The election materials we are waiting for are for Oyo Central Senatorial District, both ballot papers and result sheets. We are also expecting the delivery of all the ballot papers for the presidential election.
“As I speak to you, our materials are in Lagos for onward transportation to Oyo State. Instead of waiting endlessly for every material to be here, we have in our own wisdom thought of sorting them out for deployment to various local governments. I am sure that as we are going on with the sorting, other materials will arrive.
“Also, form EC8A1 for Senate for all the voting points that we created in all the senatorial districts,” Agboke said.
