Ondo Guber Poll: INEC To Administer Oath Of Neutrality On Ad-hoc Staff

Ahead of the November 16th governorship election in Ondo State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that it will administer an Oath of neutrality to 17,705 ad-hoc staff participating in the election.

The umpire informed that the oath of neutrality will also be administered to 11,799 security personnel drawn from the Nigeria Police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC), Nigeria Customs, and other security agencies.

Addressing journalists at the commission’s state headquarters in Akure, the state capital, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, said the commission will hand over the updated voter register to all political parties participating in the poll on Tuesday.

Babalola, who stated that the harmonised total number of new registered voters with the old registered voters is now 2,053,061, urged political parties to seize the opportunity, reflecting the Commission’s commitment to transparency and ensuring a level playing field.

While saying that the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in the state will commence from 17th October across all 203 registration areas in the state to October 21st.

The REC urged registered voters, especially those who recently updated their details or are newly registered, to take advantage of the opportunity to collect their PVCs.

Babalola hinted that about 295,603 PVCs remain uncollected before the newly registered 58,708 PVCs are available for collection.

She said, “To ensure a secure electoral environment before, during, and after the November 16 governorship election, INEC has commenced the Election Security Personnel (ESP) training. This program is designed for all categories of security personnel to be deployed at various stages of the election.

“The training began today, 14th October 2024, and will conclude on 16th October 2024 at the state level, with the zonal sessions scheduled for the three senatorial districts from 18th to 20th October 2024.

“This training aims to equip our security agents with the necessary knowledge and skills to handle the unique challenges that may arise before, during, and after the election.”