The Edo office of the Independent National Electoral commission(INEC), says it has taken delivery of 4, 637 ballot boxes ahead of the forthcoming general election.
Mr Richard Ntui, the state INEC Administrative Secretary said this at an interactive forum with religious leaders in Benin on Tuesday.
Ntui who briefed the religious leaders on the preparations for the general election, said more ballot boxes were being expected in the state.
He said INEC had constituted a committee to recruit ad hoc staff for the election, adding that the action was to ensure transparency in the recruitment process.
“INEC has no enough staff to conduct the election, hence the need for ad hoc staff.
“We are going to recruit them from federal establishments and tertiary institutions in the state.
“There are 91 registered political parties in the country.
“Twenty six of them conducted primaries and are fielding candidates for various positions in the state,” he said.
Mrs May Agbamuche-Mbu, INEC National Commissioner in charge of Edo, Bayelsa and Rivers said the forum was to formally acquaint religious leaders on the level of preparation for the general election.
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“The commission is aware of your support through voters’ education which you did through messages during worship session.
“This has great influence on your followers.
“For this we say thank you for making our work lighter,” she said.
Malam Yusuf Bako, the state chairman, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, however, expressed concern over abuse of social media by some Nigerians.
“The social media is a major challenge we are facing now as a nation.
“We are using it to destroy ourselves, so we want you to find ways to check the challenge,” Bako said.
He urged the public to verify information from the social media to prevent the spread of fake news before, during and after the election.
“We assure you that we are going to convey our discussions here to the Muslim community to ensure successful election,” he said.
Mr Humphrey Iriabe, the state secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said the association would mobilise its members to participate actively in the election.
“We have concluded plans to meet with all our youths to tell them how important they are to the growth of the nation and also to tell them to prepare themselves for leadership positions in future.
“We will continue to preach against electoral violence,” Iriabe said.
