The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State has canceled the grand finale of its Central Senatorial District rally due to security concerns.
Austyn Ochu, Head, Media Team, Kogi Presidential Campaign Committee (KPCC), said in a statement yesterday that the cancellation was made after an extraordinary stakeholder meeting on Monday.
Abdulkareem Saliu, a former federal senator, presided over the meeting, which was held at the country residence of the state party chairman, Sam Uhuotu.
Ochu stated that the group evaluated the district’s urgent security situation ahead of the general election on Saturday and decided to consolidate on numerous protests organized so far in all local council districts. The stakeholders also agreed to conduct a door-to-door campaign in the days leading up to the election.
MEANWHILE, the Kogi State Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) stated it had deployed 3,508 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices for the Presidential, House of Representatives, and State House of Assembly elections, and that its office in the state had not been attacked.
Dr. Gabriel Longpet, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, announced this during a press conference in Lokoja yesterday.
He stated that security is critical to the election’s success and that voter safety will be ensured. All security formations in the state, he claims, have assured him that voters and INEC employees will be safe before, during, and after the election.
He stated that Kogi has 1.9 million registered voters, all of whom are anticipated to vote on February 25. He stated that 1.6 million people had received their Permanent Voter Cards.
Longpet admitted that certain BVAS devices failed during the Commission’s simulated election. He did, however, clarify that the impacted devices have been replaced from INEC’s backup storage.
