Ahead of elections coming up in Nasarawa, Edo and Ondo states, the Independent National Electoral Commission has given a note of warning to political parties against the use of branded face masks at polling units.
INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, gave this directive at a town hall meeting in Nasarawa State with political parties and other election stakeholders in preparation for the bye-election coming up in the state on August 8.
He said INEC has chosen to use the bye-election to test its preparedness in conducting an election during a pandemic.
Yakubu said, “We are on course for the Saturday elections, every material that ought to be delivered has been delivered, including the sensitive materials
“We have had a good interaction with the political parties and security agencies, my overall assessment is that we are good to go.
“This coming election is very important for us because this is the first election in Nigeria to be conducted in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.
“And we deliberately decided to start with Nasarawa Central bye-elections so we can learn the vital lesson that we need ahead of Edo and Ondo governorship elections, as well as 15 outstanding bye-elections and two-state governorship elections.”
