In a press conference held in Jos on Friday, the Plateau State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Oliver Tersoo Agundu, announced that the re-run election for the Plateau North Senatorial District and Jos North/Bassa Federal House of Representatives seats will take place on February 3rd.
Dr. Agundu revealed that the election will cover six local government areas: Bassa, Barakin-Ladi, Jos East, Jos North, Jos South, and Riyom.
According to him, these areas have a total of 73 registration areas and 2,266 polling units. The Registered Voters in the region amount to 1,234,761, and 1,167,001 of them have already collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
The magnitude of the election can be compared to a Governorship Election in some states, emphasized Dr. Agundu.
To ensure a smooth process, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) plans to recruit over 11,000 Ad-hoc personnel in addition to security personnel.
Despite the challenges faced by the Commission, Dr. Agundu reassured the public that the election will proceed as scheduled, as it is eagerly anticipated by the affected constituencies.
Dr Agundu declared: “The over three thousand (3000) BVAS expected to be deployed in this coming re-run elections have been fully charged and are currently being purged of the previous data ready for configuration and subsequent deployment.
” I wish to report that we have planned to deploy BVAS to specific Polling Units, RAs/Wards and LGAs during election with the right quantity of the Back-up ready for any eventuality.
“Let me also reiterate the earlier information that I escalated from our Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the last time we met before the General Elections, precisely that elections are not going to hold in some polling units across the nation for some reasons which resulted in zero registration.
” I wish to inform you that Plateau North Senatorial District also has a share of such units in 2 LGAs namely Bassa 1 and Jos North 3 totalling 4 Polling Units.
“Once again, all Political Parties, Security Agencies and other stakeholders should take note and act accordingly by not deploying agents or personnel in those places on the 3rd February, 2024.”
Furthermore, the Commissioner stressed that INEC has taken special consideration for people living with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, ensuring equal opportunity for them to participate in the re-run election.
Dr. Agundu emphasized his commitment to conducting a free, fair, transparent, and inclusive election, acknowledging that this can only be achieved in an atmosphere of peace guaranteed by security agencies and accurate reporting by the media.
