***Says 247 Polling Units affected by insecurity in the State
Following the increase in the activities of Bandits and other Terrorists in Parts of Niger state, the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has created voting ceters across the state to cater for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in the state.
These voting centers, the Electoral Body said, would enable the IDPs to participate in the 2023 general elections from their various IDP camps.
The Niger state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ahmed Yusha’u Garki disclosed this in Minna on Friday during a stakeholders meeting at the state INEC Headquarters, saying that 247 polling units across the state were affected by insecurity.
He pointed out that four local government areas of Shiroro, Munya, Mokwa and Paikoro are affected by the security challenges, adding however that the situation in Rafi local can be managed as the displaced people in the area have returned to their homes.
According to him, “247 polling units are affected by insecurity in the state and those people who belong to those polling units would have their voting done from their IDP camps.
“We have identified IDP camps in Shiroro, Munya, Mokwa, and Paikoro. The IDPs in Rafi local government area have all returned to their homes”, he said.
Ahmed disclosed further that no fewer than 21,038 personnel will be involved in the conduct of the elections in the state, assuring that INEC in Niger state is fully prepared for the general elections.
Ahmed also said that there are 479 candidates including 25 women from 18 political parties would be contesting for various positions during the February 25th and March 11 elections.
Also speaking at the stakeholders meeting, the Head of Electoral Operations, Alhaji Mohammed Babatunde Yusuf disclosed that 5,305 BVAS Machines were received in the state and are being configured for the various polling units across the state.
He added that the BVAs have been tested during the mock accreditation held in some local government areas in the state, adding that it would not waste time and would ensure a transparent election.
On the update of Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) Yusuf said that the state had received 461,923 new Permanent Voter Cards, adding that so far 418,541 PVCs have been collected by their owners.
He equally disclosed that after the last continuous voter registration exercise across the country, the state now has a total 2,698,344 registered voters for the forthcoming elections.