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 rerun election in the affected ward.

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 the peaceful conduct of the election and to also plead with the electorate to come out peacefully on Feb. 3 to exercise their civil responsibility.

Mr 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 everybody, so you will be taking care of the interest of everybody, even those who are not your party members.

“I did a quick arithmetic; the registered number of voters is 2,448, Permanent Voters Card (PVC) collected 2,310, that is nearly 95 per cent collection.

“So, it shows that the people of Keana take their politics seriously.”

Mr Haruna 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 election.

Earlier, Shehu Elwahab, Resident Electoral Commissioner, Nasarawa State, said that the scheduled rerun 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, Abdullahi Agbo, promised to hold a meeting with all the candidates and their supporters to ensure the peaceful conduct of the exercise.

Also speaking, the 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, the chairman of the inter-party advisory council and political party candidates.

(NAN)