The Edo State government has raised an alarm over plans by political thugs to attack Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices in several Local Government Areas of the state.
Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, made this known while addressing journalists, revealing that the military had successfully stopped an attempt to overrun the INEC office in Oredo Local Government Area, located in the state capital.
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Nehikhare expressed the government’s concerns, stating that political thugs had already taken control of INEC offices in Etsako West and Esan West Local Government Areas, in what appeared to be an effort to hijack the electoral process.
He said, “The soldiers repelled the thugs, and the thugs have since moved across the road from the INEC facility. The soldiers successfully stopped the thugs from invading the INEC facility. We urge the military to carry out similar actions across the other 17 LGAs.”
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The commissioner also highlighted certain collation centers, which are strongholds of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including Oredo, Egor, and Ikpoba/Okha Local Government Areas.
According to Nehikhare, the actions of political thugs would not intimidate or deter the people of Edo State.
He urged citizens to turn out in large numbers to cast their votes, reassuring them that the military had secured the Oredo INEC Secretariat and was working to protect the people and INEC facilities.
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“We want to encourage the soldiers to please go across the 18 local government headquarters and take possession of these collation centers,” he added.
When contacted for a response, the spokesperson for the Edo State Police Command said they would follow up, but had not responded as of the time of filing this report.
