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… to sue the ad hoc staff who dropped the card readers
By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC announced the postponement of elections in parts of the states of Lagos, Rivers and Anambra as a result of the disruption of exercise due to violence.
Where is the devil in the electoral law?
Specifically, INEC said that the elections in Akuku Toru and Bonny, in the Rivers State Regions, as well as in parts of Anambra and Lagos, would take place at a later date, specifying that the race for seats in the federal legislature would be the most affected.
"The commission has received reports of violence and arrests of polls in certain areas, which has disrupted the process. Resident Election Commissioners and Electoral Officers in the field were asked to submit their first-hand reports of some of these incidents. We still receive information about incidents in some states of the federation, but we have received information relating to incidents occurring in the local government areas of Akuku Toru and Bonny, in the state of Rivers.
"As long as the commission could not deploy in these regions, it would imply that the vote did not take place in these regions and that it will hold consultations with the relevant authorities and the resident electoral commission RECs about these regions and announce the date on which elections will be held in some of these regions, particularly in the areas of the House of Representatives and the Senate elections.
"It was not just at Rivers that we had information about the burning of election materials. We have reports of this type in the states of Anambra and Lagos, as well as in other places, "he added.
Pursue the lost staff
The commission also promised to prosecute all members of its staff who would not have used smart card readers for accreditation purposes, stating that when card readers do not did not work until 6:00 pm on polling day, the usual procedure is to postpone the exercise to the next day. .
According to Okoye, no commission staff member has discretionary powers over the use or otherwise of card readers because its use is not subject to negotiation.
"Regarding the challenges badociated with smart card readers in some polling stations, most of these issues have been resolved and resolved in time. It should be noted, however, that the regulations and guidelines published by the INEC Independent National Electoral Commission stipulated very clearly that the use of smart card readers was mandatory.
"Accordingly, no Commission staff member or ad hoc member of the Commission is authorized in any form to deliberately refuse to use smart card readers for the conduct of the elections. According to the Commission's guidelines and regulations, any member of the ad hoc staff is careless in refusing to use smart card readers for accreditation purposes and those who have refused to use them or who have deliberately violated the use of readers. Smart card readers will be prosecuted in accordance with the Commission's directives and regulations and the electoral law, "he said.
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