Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Oyo State, Dr Adeniran Tella, said that, before the general election, 2,325,372 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) had been collected in Oyo State.
This includes 2,088,558 old PVCs and 236,814 PVCs collected by new/fresh registrants.
Dr. Tella disclosed this at an enlarged stakeholders’ meeting on Monday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Dr Tella urged eligible votes and other stakeholders to confirm their voting locations, eschew all forms of electoral violence, vote buying/trading on election day and vote for the candidate of their choice.
Tella, While stating that the commission had deployed non-sensitive materials for the election to the offices of INEC in the 33 local government areas of the state, he said sensitive materials will be distributed in due course.
Tella continued, ” INEC received 38 petitions in the aftermath of party primaries in the state.
He, however, said the INEC won 36 out of the 38 cases, the court ordered a fresh primary in one, while one case was still pending at the Appeal Court Tella said.
In their remarks, security agents assured that strategies were in place to guarantee a peaceful election.
Speaking on behalf of the Oyo police command, ACP Ekanem Usen vowed that the police work in 100 per cent synergy with other security agencies.
On his part, Director, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Oyo State, Mr Odedokun Kayode cautioned politicians against attempting to overwhelm electoral officials.
Acknowledging the crucial nature of the election, Mr Biodun Popoola, on behalf of the state chapter of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), urged political parties and their supporters to embrace the imperative of a peaceful election.
Representing Civil Societies Organisation, Aisha Ismail observed that the people at the grassroots still express apathy towards the election,
Though she described the assurances of security agencies as reassuring, Ismail said the masses still feared that the cash and fuel scarcity may hinder the smooth conduct of the election.
Religious clerics, Alhaji Hassan Amin and Apostle Dare Ojo called for continued prayers for a peaceful election.
They urged Nigerians to vote according to their conscience and urged politicians to ensure that no violence breaks out before, during, and after the election.
