The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has directed its officials to identify any risk or threat that may disrupt the conduct of the Nov. 16 governorship election in Kogi.
NAN reports that INEC National Commissioner, Mrs Amina Zakari, gave the directive on Thursday in Lokoja while declaring open a two-day workshop for Electoral Officers, Assistant Electoral Officers and some staff from the state and federal offices of the commission.
She said that identifying early challenges to the smooth conduct of the election would help the commission to eliminate them before it was too late.
Zakari said that the INEC depend heavily on its field officers for the success of the election, saying that it had put in place an Election Monitoring and Support System (EMSC) for easy coordination of field activities before and during the election.
She urged them to have good knowledge of happenings in their environment,advising that they should always ensure prompt submission of reports and uploading of data to enable the headquarters to intervene on time.
Zakari also urged them to take full charge of the management of the election, saying that they must ensure absolute monitoring of ad hoc staff under their control and ensure early distribution of election materials to polling units.
She said that the workshop was organised to determine the readiness of the staff for the coming election, saying that it was also an opportunity for them to refresh their knowledge.
Alhaji Mohammed Haruna, INEC National Commissioner in charge of Kogi, Kwara and Nasarawa States, in his remarks said that the Election Monitoring and Support System (EMSC) was put in place to track implementation of electoral activities to have a better control on election management.
He urged the participants to fully comply with EMSC process to enable the commission have sufficient information for decision-making and mobilise for the purpose of intervention.
