The Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) has expressed its readiness for the conduct of the Saturday, April 27 local government election.
The Chairman of the Commission, Aare Isiaka Abiola Olagunju, SAN, gave the expression during an interview with journalists at the OYSIEC’s headquarters in Ibadan on Thursday.
The Chairman disclosed that the Commission will deploy a minimum of 15,000 security personnel to monitor the conduct of the election at polling units and other strategic locations across the state to ensure that the is credible, free and fair.
Speaking on the level of preparations put in place by the Commission, Olagunju, disclosed that the OYSIEC has commenced distribution of non-sensitive and sensitive materials to various local governments since Monday, April 22 to avoid any form of delay.
He stated that 40,000 adhoc staff have been recruited, interviewed and trained for the conduct of the election, which will take place in 6,393 polling units spread across 33 local government areas in the state.
On the issue of Biometric Voters Accreditation System (BVAS), OYSIEC Chairman maintained that the Commission will not make use of the BVAS machine for the conduct of the election.
Aare Olagunju, therefore, assured the electorates that necessary measures have been in place to make sure their votes count.
He noted that the Commission will make use of IReV, which will enable the results of the election to be transmitted from the polling units.
Olagunju, however, disclosed that the Commission is not facing with any litigation that hinder the smooth process of the exercise, therefore, appreciated the support of the 19 participating political parties for showing necessary cooperation for the success of the exercise.
While using the avenue to inform the public that there will be restriction of vehicular movements from 6am to 4pm, OYSIEC Chairman also solicited the cooperation and support of the electorates by turning out en mass to cast their vote on Saturday.
Packaged by Adekunle Adegboyega
