January 09, (THEWILL) – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kano says it has completed all arrangements for the conduct of the Kunchi/Tsanyawa, Kura/Garin Malam and Rimin Gado/Tofa State House of Assembly bye-elections scheduled for February 3, 2024.
Amb. Abdu Zango, Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the State, disclosed this while addressing stakeholders at the Commission’s headquarters in Kano, on Tuesday.
“We are fully ready for the bye-election with our trained electoral personnel ready to conduct a transparent and credible election for the conduct of bye-elections in six local government areas of the state.
“We are conducting elections in 66 polling units across the six local government areas,” he said, warning that “any person without a permanent voter card will not participate in the court bye-election.”
He said that already the Commission had deployed sensitive and non-sensitive materials to all the affected local government areas.
Zango explained that the BVAS Machine would be used during the re-run elections to ensure a free, fair and credible election. He expressed confidence that the bye-election would be successful.
” We have prepared and equipped our personnel with basic electoral knowledge for the conduct of a free, fair and transparent election come February 3,” he said.
The REC commended the efforts of the Police for providing the required security before and during the bye-election.
The Commissioner of Police in the State, Hussaini Gumel, said at the event that the Command had already put in place security measures to ensure smooth implementation of all electoral processes in the affected local government areas.
Represented by CSP Hamma Abdullahi, Gumel said that the police would be visible in all the polling units to enable eligible residents in the six local government areas to participate in the exercise without threat to lives and property.
He warned leaders of political parties that would be participating in the election to impress on their supporters to shun all kinds of political violence, ballot snatching and thuggery during the exercise.
“Police will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute any person or group of people found disrupting the peaceful political atmosphere the state is known for,” he said.
Abdullahi Yusuf is a seasoned journalist, communicator and was previously the Deputy Editor-In-Chief and Zonal Manager, News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Jos, where he retired on December 15, 2021
