By David Akinadewo-Adekahunsi 

Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola, has assured media professionals and people of the state that preparations for the November 16, 2024 governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, are on track.

During a media engagement at the weekend, Babalola disclosed that most non-sensitive election materials have been received from INEC Headquarters in Abuja, and distributed to the 18 local government offices.

The Ondo REC highlighted INEC’s preparations, including recruitment and training of ad-hoc staff, distribution of Permanent Voter Cards, and deployment of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System to 3,933 polling units.

Babalola, during the media engagement held at the Commission’s State Headquarters in Akure, disclosed that all plans are being carried out in accordance with the timetable set for the election.

Noting that staff of the Commission have been putting in their all and working round the clock to ensure timely distribution of election materials on the eve of the election, she revealed that plans are in top gear to commence the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) soon.

The Ondo INEC boss also assured the people of Ondo state that Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) which is a key innovation aimed at enhancing the credibility of the exercise would be deployed to all the Polling units in the state for voter accreditation.

Babalola, who explained that Recruitment and Training of Ad-hoc Staff had been done in line with the commission’s preparations, stated further that all INEC staff are committed to ensuring safe storage of all materials needed for the November election.

Besides, she assured the Ondo electorates that INEC would ensure their votes count through uploading of results from the polling units to the IReV, and discouragement of votes buying with the help of security agencies.

She said: “I am pleased to inform you that a large percentage of the non-sensitive election materials required for the election have been received and deployed to the 18 Local Government Offices, where they are batched to RAs and Pus levels.

“We are working closely with the relevant security agencies and stakeholders to ensure safe storage and timely distribution of these materials on the eve of election.

“The Portal for the recruitment of ad-hoc staff for the election has been closed and presently we are at the stage of harvesting those who applied as ad-hoc election officials for the purpose of inviting the qualified ones for training. Our focus during recruitment has been on competence, neutrality, and professionalism.

“The NYSC who are going to form the major crop of poll officials to be used in the election have been subjected to 13 weeks of root-training before the major Electoral Institute Training of Election Officials.

“In the same vein, while a series of capacity-building workshops have been conducted for our staff, lots of capacity enhancement training and workshops are still ongoing. This is aimed at aiding the staff of the Commission in the state to discharge their duties professionally.”

Speaking further on BVAS, she said: “The deployment of BVAS is a key innovation aimed at enhancing the credibility of the electoral process. May I state categorically that BVAS shall be deployed in all Three thousand nine hundred and thirty-three (3,933) Polling units in the state for voter accreditation, ensuring that only registered voters with valid PVCs are allowed to vote. This system will also transmit polling unit results directly to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), enabling greater transparency and real-time access to election results by the public.

“INEC Ondo state has taken custody of sufficient numbers of BVAS for the purpose of the election, and we are confident in its reliability for the governorship election.

“Registration Area Technical Support Staff (RATECH) will be deployed to all Registration Areas (RAs) to provide technical assistance in case of any issue with the functioning of the BVAS.”

Urging the electorates to come out and participate in the electioneering process, the REC stated that: “As we await the commencement of the distribution of Permanent Voter Card (PVC), from the CVR exercise we urge all registered voters in the previous registration exercise who are yet to collect their PVCs to do so, as this process is ongoing at our LGA offices. We shall simplify the collection process and establish PVC collection centers in all Registration Areas (RA) and in the Local government areas for ease of access.”

Earlier in his short remarks, the Chairman, Ondo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Prince Leke Adegbite, pledged media support and advocated for regular engagements to prevent misinformation before, during and after the election.

Adegbite, while commending the REC for being friendly with members of the media professional, assured her and the commission of credible and balanced reporting of INEC activities.