INEC changes electoral officers

INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega

All electoral officers in charge of the 18 local government areas of Edo State were on Friday asked to step aside and give way to interim electoral officers seconded from other states.

The Public Relations Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission in the state, Mrs. Priscilla Sule-Imoudu, told SATURDAY PUNCH on Friday that the changes were made to enhance the credibility of today’s governorship election.

She said three electoral officers were picked from each of the six geopolitical zones to man the 18 LGAs of the state.

“So, if you see somebody from the North or from the West, know that they were just brought in for the purpose of this election,” Sule-Imoudu said.

She noted that polling units that were overcrowded had been split into two or more units depending on how many registered voters were in the unit.

She said the voting population for each unit had been reduced to 300, such that any polling unit that had 1,500 voters on its register would be split into three polling units.

“This was done to reduce overcrowding and ensure a smooth conduct of the polls,” the official said.

She explained that the official polling units still remained 2,627 for the entire state and one presiding officer was still in charge of a polling unit.