The Independent National Electoral Commission office in the Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia state has been set ablaze.
In a statement on Monday, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, stated that the incident occurred on Sunday night.
This is happening a week after one of the commission’s offices in Akwa Ibom was razed–Sunday, May 2, exactly a week before the fresh arson attack.
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The cause of the fire incident had yet to be ascertained as at the time of filing this report.
Okoye said although there are no casualties in the latest fire incident in Abia, all electoral materials and office equipment were destroyed.
He said the attacks could affect the ongoing expansion of voter access to polling units, resumption of the continuous voter registration (CVR), pending bye-elections and ultimately the 2023 General Election.
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The statement partly read, “The latest incident in Abia State is one too many. These facilities are national assets, which must be protected. Accordingly, the Commission is convening an emergency meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) next week to discuss this disturbing trend.
“Meanwhile, the Commission wishes to reassure Nigerians that all activities in relation to the ongoing expansion of voter access to Polling Units and preparations for the resumption of CVR as well as all scheduled elections will proceed as planned.”
This is not the first attack on INEC’s facilities in Abia in recent times.
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Five months ago, on December 13, its LGA office in Aba south was completely burnt down while that of Arochukwu LGA was vandalised in October 2020.
Ballot Boxes, Others Destroyed As Hoodlums Burn Down National Electoral Commission Office In Akwa Ibom.