Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says the reported attack on one of its Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collection centres in Osun will not deter it from conducting a free, fair and credible governorship election in the state.

Chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, Dayo Oketola, gave the assurance in an interview with journalists on Monday in Abuja.

Some suspected hoodlums had, on Sunday, stormed an INEC PVC collection centre located at Oyinlola DC School, Ward 2, Okuku, attacking staff members on duty and carting away electoral materials, including Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and PVCs.

Mr Oketola, however, said that the incident had been formally reported to the police, adding that they had already commenced an investigation into the incident.

“The Osun incident has been reported to the police. As we speak, it is already public knowledge that the police have started an investigation,” Mr Oketola said.

He expressed confidence in the police to apprehend the suspects and recover the stolen commission assets.

“As a commission, we trust that the police will be diligent in their investigation, track those suspects, get them arrested and ensure they face the wrath of the law.

“We also trust that they’ll be able to recover our devices, including the BVAS that were reportedly carted away,” he added.

Mr Oketola maintained that, in spite of the attack, INEC’s operational preparations for the upcoming election remained firmly on track.

“It is a matter already under investigation, I cannot actually comment too much on it.

“But I know that that cannot distract INEC from carrying out the activities preceding the Osun governorship election.

“INEC cannot be distracted. We will conduct a free and fair election in Osun. That incident cannot distract us.

“The election will go on as planned, and we expect it to be free, fair and credible at the end of the day,” he said.

He disclosed that, as part of preparations, the commission was embarking on a pre-assessment tour of the state to evaluate operational readiness and engage key local stakeholders.

Mr Oketola also stated that a total of 4,427 BVAS devices had been configured for the governorship election, including 664 backup units, which could take care of any incident before and during the election.

He also said that INEC had established 97 Super Registration Area Centres (Super RACs) and 105 Registration Area Centres across all the local government areas in the state, which would be fully activated on the night before the election.

“Whatever was carted away will be replaced. Out of the 4,427 BVAS, we have 664 prepared as backups. There is no way whatever happened can disrupt our plans for the election,” he assured.

The chief press secretary described the stealing of PVCs as an exercise in futility, given the strict biometric verification required by the BVAS technology.

“Nobody can use another person’s PVC to vote in an election in Nigeria again. The era of ghost voters is gone. With BVAS, you must tender your PVC and undergo biometric authentication.

“The technology has been tightened in such a manner that nobody can use another person’s identity to vote any longer in Nigeria.

“That has been proven in previous elections, particularly those that were conducted under the leadership of Prof. Amupitan,” Mr Oketola said.

He assured registered Nigerians that the necessary administrative measures would also be taken by the commission to ensure that no voter would be disenfranchised in the state as a result of the incident.

“Once a voter’s name is already on the voters’ register, and somehow, your PVC happens to be among those that have been reportedly stolen, I want to believe you can’t be disenfranchised from exercising your right or participating in the election, come Aug. 15.

“Whatever the commission will do to solve that problem will be done. I know the commission will leave no stone unturned to ensure that no registered voter in Osun is disenfranchised on election day,” he said.

Mr Oketola, while assuring voters of their safety during the election, called on all stakeholders to collaborate with the commission to protect the nation’s electoral assets and ensure a peaceful voting environment.

“While the security agencies will provide adequate security to protect people and election materials, we also need all key stakeholders to be vigilant.

“The people, community leaders and traditional rulers, security agencies, religious organisations, political actors; all of us must work together to ensure that the Osun election is not just successful, but conducted in an atmosphere that gives people the confidence to come out and exercise their franchise,” Mr Oketola said.

(NAN)