Voters, INEC, security now set for today's Governorship election in Kogi

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies and the over 1.3 million eligible voters are now fully set for the success of Saturday’s

A Correspondent who visited some areas in Lokoja , the state capital, on Friday, observed heavy presence of security officials in different parts of the town.


Some of the residents were, however, busy making last minute preparations to enable them travel to their villages ahead of the effective period for the restriction of movement announced by the police.

Although 22 political parties have fielded candidates for the election, some observers believe that the contest appears more pronounced between the incumbent Gov. Idrs Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party and Alhaji Abubakar Audu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Audu was a former and first civilian governor of the state under the NRC.

Meanwhile, Mr Halilu Pai, INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, told NAN in Lokoja that all materials needed for the election had been deployed to all the 239 wards in the state.

Pai, who restated the resolve of the commission to ensure free, fair and credible election, said that the election would commence by 8 a.m. across the 3,018 voting centres.

He urged the electorate and other stakeholders to play by the rules.

Mr Sotonye Wakama, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, who has been redeployed from Force Headquarters to oversee the security operations during the election, said that 13, 260 regular and mobile policemen had been deployed.

He said that the policemen had been fully-briefed and dispatched to their beats, adding that the police was fully-ready to provide adequate security for election materials, officials and the electorate.

Wakama reiterated that movement of vehicles into and out of the state would be restricted from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.

In the same vein, Mr Nnamdi Nwiyi, the Deputy Commandant-General of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ( NSCDC), also told newsmen that the number of men and officers of the corps deployed on election duty had been increased from 5, 000 to 6, 286.

Nwiyi advised them to work diligently and not to compromise in their work in order to justify the existence of the corps.