Juliet Uduji
Efforts towards the smooth run of elections were levelled-up as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) met with leaders of all political parties in a virtual meeting ahead of the elections in Edo and Ondo states.
The virtual meeting was held on Monday, June 1, ahead of the gubernatorial elections in the two states scheduled for September 2020 by INEC. Seun Okin, the Channels TV journalist, broke the news on his Twitter page on Monday morning.
dgovscoops gathers that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, All Progressive Congress (APC) national chairman and Prince Uche Secondus, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman, were in attendance. The meeting was based on how effective modalities will be channelled as per the arrangement of the electoral umpire towards the elections amid coronavirus crisis.
Prior to the meeting, INEC announced it has approved policy and modalities to conduct elections during Covid-19 pandemic. Festus Okoye, the electoral umpire’s commissioner, made the disclosure in a statement on Thursday, May 21, in Abuja. The commissioner disclosed that despite pandemic ravaging states of the country, the election scheduled will hold.
He stated that the “Policy on Conducting Elections in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic” would be released on Monday, May 25, adding that INEC has put measures in places to tackle the challenges while protecting the voters.
Meanwhile, dgovscoops reported that APC has announced the timetable for its primaries ahead of the governorship poll in Ondo and Edo states. The ruling party fixed Monday, June 22 and Monday, July 20 for its governorship primary elections in Edo and Ondo states respectively. The announcement trailed the decision by the electoral umpire to stick with its initial plan amid coronavirus crisis. On the other hands, the PDP has also announced the timetable for its primary election ahead of Edo and Ondo election.
Credit: Legit