Independent National Electoral Commission National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said on Wednesday that the electoral umpire will go ahead with the governorship elections scheduled to hold in Edo and Ondo states inspite of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Okoye said that INEC’s decision to go ahead with all scheduled elections to avoid a constitutional crisis capable of derailing Nigeria’s democracy and electoral process.
The INEC national commissioner, who spoke during a virtual meeting in Abuja, expressed the electoral body’s determination to lead the process of innovation and creativity in the electoral process rather than concede to postponing all elections indefinitely.
According to Okoye, “Throwing in the towel in our constitutional circumstances may do violence to the Constitution and wittingly or unwittingly throw the country into avoidable constitutional crisis.
“The commission is therefore determined to proceed with the two end of tenure governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states and the 10 Senatorial and state assembly elections with cautious optimistic bearing in mind that the health and safety of the people will be crucial determinants of the success or otherwise of the elections.
“We are mindful of the fact that we are at war with an “unseen enemy. We are aware of the fact that some of our compatriots have lost their lives on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are aware that so many people are in isolation and quarantine centres. We are aware that some of our people are isolated and quarantined at home.”