INEC urged Transport Unions Ahead of Kogi, Imo, Bayelsa Gov Elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has tasked transport and allied unions to work with them to facilitate successful logistics deployment for the governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states later this year.

The chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the call on Wednesday, July 19, in Abuja at the post-election review meeting with Electoral Officers (EOs) and transport unions.

The event comes on the heels of the July 4 inaugural post-election review meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).

Yakubu noted that the commission was looking at interfacing with transport providers to review logistic arrangements by inviting the leadership of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), and the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN).

“There is no doubt that the success of any election primarily depends on the ability to deploy personnel and materials to various locations. In Nigeria, this involves the biggest logistic deployment the nation periodically undertakes across vast terrains and often difficult topography,” Yakkubu said.

“This has been a perennial challenge over time but is now compounded by issues of infrastructure and insecurity.”

The chairman, however, said that the commission has to deploy personnel and materials not only for election day activities but also for the period before, during and after the polls.