Lagos INEC moves election materials to councils, declares readiness

The Independent Electoral Commission in Lagos State has started the distributions of electoral materials to the 20 Local Government Areas in the state ahead of the Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Olusegun Agbaje, told journalists at the Central Bank of Nigeria office, Lagos, that all the materials would be distributed on Wednesday to the LGAs where the electoral officers for each council would do the final distributions on Election Day.

He said that all political parties were invited for the distributions to show that Lagos State had enough materials for the elections.

“This exercise today is to tell Nigerians, especially residents of Lagos State, that we are ready for the elections on Saturday.

“We have enough materials. We don’t have problem with ballot papers and other sensitive materials.

“The police and soldiers will escort all trucks to various destinations,” he said.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, said the exercise was one of the police mandates to provide security for the citizens, electoral materials in transit or office, INEC officials and observers.

“We are joining the INEC team in the distributions of electoral materials to different local government areas.

“We are to provide adequate security that will follow all the trucks carrying the materials to local government areas.

“At the local government areas, there are other police officers posted to ensure the safety of the materials before and during elections,” he said.

No fewer than 10 agents of political party were present at the distribution ceremony.

The parties are Action Alliance, Action Democratic Party, African Action Congress, All Progressives Congress and Allied Peoples Movement.

Others are Labour Party, National Rescue Movement, New Nigeria Peoples Party, Peoples Democratic Party and Young Progressive Party.