Fire broke out at the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Akure, Ondo State on September 10, destroying a container where over 5,000 Smart Card Readers were stored. Following the incident, the Commission has clarified that the October 10 Ondo governorship election will hold as planned. INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu speaking at a meeting of the National Peace Committee on Friday, September 11, stated that the incident will not prevent the Commission from conducting the Ondo governorship election as scheduled, as alternative plans have been put in place by the Commission following the loss of the card readers. It will be recalled that during the 2019 general elections, INEC suffered a fire loss of card readers in its Anambra State office where nearly 4,500 card readers were burnt.
As part of its preparations for the upcoming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States, the Commission produced a 10-point Voters’ Code of Conduct, which was presented by its Chairman at the briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on September 10. Braille versions of the ‘INEC Policy on Conducting Elections in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic’ and the ‘Code of Conduct and Rules of Engagement for Security Personnel on Election Duty’ earlier produced by the Commission were also presented at the briefing. Prof. Yakubu gave assurances of the Commission’s determination to conduct free, fair and transparent elections.