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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may postpone the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States, owing to the absence of some national commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), who have retired after the expiration of their tenures.
Reports say activities at the commission have been greatly hampered due to the non-constitution of a new INEC management board.
In addition to that, ThisDay reports that INEC is also facing financial constraints occasioned by the freezing of its accounts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for non-compliance with the policy on the transfer of funds to the Treasury Single Account (CBN) as directed by the federal government.
An official at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, who pleaded anonymity told the newspaper Monday that the acting Chairman of INEC, Mrs. Amina Bala Zakari, had sent two memoranda to the presidency requesting action on the reconstitution of the board of the commission.
According to the timetable released by INEC, governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States have been slated to hold on November 21 and December 5 respectively.
In a statement issued by the Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Dr. Chris O. Iyimoga, the commission said political parties that will field candidates for the Kogi governorship election would start campaigns on July 24 and end them by midnight of November 19, while that of Bayelsa State would commence on September 6 and end on December 3.
But based on current realities, the governorship elections in the two states might not hold on the scheduled dates, because most of the logistics and activities preparatory to the polls have not been carried out while the commission is still faced with the absence of a management board that could make the whole exercise a futile one if not addressed.