The Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), on Thursday, November 28, began the distribution of election materials for Kogi West supplementary areas in Kogi state.
The materials, which were stored at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Lokoja, the state capital, were delivered in the presence of INEC officials.
They included the National Commissioner for Kogi, Kwara and Nasarawa states, Mohammed Haruna; the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. James Apam; representatives of concerned political parties, security agencies personnel and reporters.
Haruna said the materials were for onward distribution to the affected areas in the supplementary poll in Kogi West and Ajaokuta Federal Constituency.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has spoken about the recent conduct of the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states which were reportedly marred by violence.
The Herald gathered that the INEC stated that the Nigerian law hindered it from canceling the polls as demanded by some Nigerians and election observers.
According to the commission, “I believe that the intentions of the lawmakers can be deduced from the clear wording of section 26 of the Electoral Act. It gives the commission the power to postpone, not cancel an election before the election starts.
“There is no provision of the law that gives the commission the power to cancel,” Festus Okoye, its national commissioner in charge of information and voter education, insisted, arguing that INEC only has a mandate to postpone where possible.”
Okoye was quoted as saying the helplessness of the electoral umpire in that regard, especially in relation to protests about the outcome of the elections.
He added that matters were recently made worse with some courts, including the highest in the land, had recently ruled that INEC has no powers to cancel results that are made by a returning officer during any election.