By Austin Ogwuda
THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Benin City, Edo State has been submerged by flood, affecting Voter Enrollment Machines already configured for the forthcoming Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) scheduled to kick off tomorrow (Monday).
To urgently mitigate the problem, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun said in a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday that:
“We are determined to ensure that the CVR in all the 192 Wards across Edo State will proceed on Monday, 27th November, 2024 as scheduled.
“However, in view of the emergency situation, the State Headquarters will not serve as a registration centre as planned. Instead, the exercise will now take place in our Ikpoba Okha LGA office located at 16 Customs Road, off Benin/Auchi Road, Benin City.
“Meanwhile, the attention of the security agencies and emergency services has been drawn to the incident,” the statement added.
Olumekun confirmed that “the heavy downpour damaged a section of the building and movable as well as immovable items were submerged, including vehicles parked at the premises, office furniture and equipment”.
He assured that the Commission was delivering additional machines from the neighbouring States to make up for the shortfall as the gears for its Governorship election.
*Photo caption: passersby including security agents wading through the flood in front of INEC Benin headquarters, Edo State, Nigeria.
*Source: Independent
