Governor Seyi Makinde has approved N279.5 million to print 2.6 million ballot papers for local government election in the state scheduled for May 15.

Wasiu Olatunbosun, the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, disclosed this to journalists after the state’s Executive Council meeting, presided over by Mr Makinde, on Tuesday in Ibadan.

According to Mr Olatunbosun, the production of the ballot papers was awarded to the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting company in Lagos.

“The state government contracted the production of the ballot papers to a reputable printing company, known for the printing of security materials to show how serious and transparent we are.

“And to also show how prepared this administration is towards the forthcoming local government elections.

“In the past conduct of council elections in the state, previous administrations made use of the state government printing press, but this time around, we want a third party to handle these sensitive materials, to prevent people having access to the ballot papers,” explained Mr Olatunbosun.

He further stated that the actual cost of the 2.6 million ballot papers was N260 million, while VAT was N19.5 million.

(NAN)