Nigeria decides: INEC speaks on ‘hoarding’ result sheets ahead of polls

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday dismissed the allegation by the Peoples Democratic Party that it was hoarding some electoral materials.

FAZE NOTETV had reported that the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, had accused the Commission of withholding sensitive electoral materials, including collation (form EC8D) and result (form EC8E) sheets in states considered to be PDP strongholds.

The party in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, on Friday said that intelligence at PDP’s disposal showed that certain compromised INEC officials were working with agents of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to hold back the materials to rig results for ÀPC on Sunday in the affected states.

But reacting, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, said the Commission would never deliberately hoard election materials or engage in any act intended at favouring any political party or candidate.

Oyekanmi said that in the last one week, INEC had mobilised all national assets to deliver various election materials, day and night, to various parts of the country.

“While the Commission has experienced a few challenges in the process, which is normal with the logistical operation of this magnitude, we have largely overcome these challenges.

“The Chairman of INEC, (Mahmood) Yakubu, has been briefing the nation daily since last Monday on the progress made.

“I think that every well-meaning Nigerian will agree that INEC needs all the support it can get to organise a successful general election starting from tomorrow, Feb. 23.

“We want to assure Nigerians who have shown a lot of support and understanding, especially in the last one difficult week, that the Commission will never deliberately hoard election materials or engage in any act intended to favour any political party or candidate,” Oyekanmi said.

He urged Nigerians to feel free to vote for any political party or candidate of their choice while assuring them that their votes would count.