There was a mild drama on Wednesday at the Central Bank of Nigeria branch in Dugbe, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, after the Form EC8B of the Independent National Electoral Commission meant for Kano State was found in the election material deliveries meant for Oyo.
The form, which is one of the sensitive election materials, is the result sheet for a particular ward within a state.
While our correspondent was moving round the CBN premises around 5.30pm to monitor the sorting of the materials, a group of INEC officials, including ad hoc ones, suddenly raised an alarm.
“Eh! For Kano… Noted,” they exclaimed, as a woman raised up the form.
One of them subsequently took the form to a superior INEC official, who documented it in a register.
Our correspondent met with a senior official of the Commission supervising the sorting to ask how the discovery would be handled.
“We will give it to the CBN to return it to Kano State as soon as possible,” the official, who did not disclose his name, said.
Asked if there were other discoveries of such, he said, “For now, that is the only one we have found.”
The official added that the sensitive materials would be dispatched to different local government areas of the state as soon as the sorting ends.
Efforts to get the comment of the INEC Head of Publicity in the state, Mr. Olayiwola Arowolo, on the development proved abortive as calls made to his line were not answered.
The Resident Electoral
Commission in the state, Mr. Mutiu Agboke, had also yet to reply to a
text message sent to his line as of the time of filing this report.
