Published January 25
By Chinwendu Eugene.T.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured the people of Keana Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, of its readiness to conduct a free and fair re-run election in the affected ward.
Malam Kudu Haruna, INEC’s National Commissioner, North Central, gave the assurance at a stakeholders’ meeting on Wednesday in Keana.
He said, the essence of the meeting was to underscore the need for a peaceful conduct of the election and to also plead with the electorate to come out peacefully on February 3rd to exercise their civil responsibility.
Haruna said the commission was committed to conducting a free and fair election, saying that it has sufficient materials needed for the smooth conduct of the exercise.
He advocated for the spirit of sportsmanship among the candidates.He said, “Once you win, you become the father of the people, so you will be taking care of the interests of everybody, even those who are not your party members.”
“I did a quick arithmetic; the registered number of voters is 2,448, and the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) collected 2,310, which is nearly 95 per cent collection.So, it shows that the people of Keana take their politics seriously.”
Haruna furthermore, expressed appreciation to the people of Keana for taking their civic responsibility seriously.He lauded the efforts of security agents for exhibiting professionalism in the last election and urged them to replicate the same in the next election.
Earlier, Alhaji Shehu Elwahab, Resident Electoral Commissioner, Nasarawa State, said that the scheduled re-run poll would take place in five polling units in Agaza Ward. According to him, ten political parties will participate in the exercise.
The Osana of Keana, Alhaji Abdullahi Agbo, promised to hold a meeting with all the candidates and their supporters to ensure the peaceful conduct of the exercise.
In addition, Divisional Police Officer of Keana, Aliyu Abdulaziz, assured that security agents would provide adequate security before, during, and after the election.
The stakeholders meeting had in attendance the electoral officer of Keana, security agents, religious leaders, traditional rulers, chairman inter-party advisory council, and political party candidates.
