1,390 ad hoc staff for Kogi East rerun poll
NWC affirms Obaseki as Edo APC gov candidate
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said yesterday that it will engage 1,390 ad hoc staff for the conduct of the rerun election in Kogi East senatorial district on July 23.
Daily Trust reports that in the rerun held earlier, the processes were marred by violence in Ofu and Idah state constituencies and therefore declared inconclusive.
Addressing newsmen in Lokoja, yesterday, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Kogi, Mr. Samuel Madaki, said all is now set for the repeat rerun poll and urged all stakeholders to cooperate with the commission to ensure the election is conclusive this time around.
He gave the breakdown of the ad hoc staff engaged for the exercise to include three returning officers, 53 collation officers, 51 supervisory presiding officers, 236 presiding officers, 912 assistant presiding officers and 135 assistant presiding officers (voting points).
The REC said a total of 140,297 registered voters would be taking part in the rerun poll which would hold in 236 polling units across eight local government areas in the district. The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has approved the winner of the June 18, 2016 primary election, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, as the party’s flagbearer for the forthcoming Edo State governorship election.
National secretary of the party, Mai Mala Buni, who stated this yesterday in Abuja, said the approval followed the adoption of the report of the party’s Edo State Governorship Primaries 2016 Appeals Committee, chaired by Opeyemi Bamidele.
The three-member appeal committee, which submitted its report on June 29, 2016 to the APC national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja, received petitions of two aspirants, Barrister Kenneth Imansuagbon and Engineer Chris Ogiemwonyi.
The appeal committee, in its report, concluded that the issues raised by the petitioners were not compelling to warrant the cancellation of the primary election, despite the seriousness of the allegations and claims.
The report, which called on all APC stakeholders in Edo State to put the party’s interest over and above personal interests, recommended that the leadership of the party step up diplomacy for reconciliation.
The appeal committee, which also implored the national chairman to consolidate his involvement by reaching out to all aggrieved parties, recommended the setting up of a highpowered committee to mediate between Governor Adams Oshiomhole and all aspirants who participated in the primary election.