In a distressing turn of events, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that its state headquarters in Benin, Edo state, bore the brunt of a ferocious flood unleashed by Friday’s heavy downpour. Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, relayed this unfortunate news in a statement from Abuja on Saturday.
According to Olumekun’s account, the INEC office in Benin City was engulfed by floodwaters, leaving devastation in its wake. The deluge wreaked havoc on movable and immovable assets, submerging vehicles, office furniture, and critical equipment, including voter enrollment machines crucial for the forthcoming Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
Despite the significant setback, Olumekun assured the public of INEC’s swift response to address the crisis and salvage the CVR exercise scheduled to kick off on Monday, 27th November 2024. Measures are underway to procure additional voter enrollment machines from neighbouring states to offset the damage incurred.
Regrettably, due to the extensive flood damage, the state headquarters will no longer serve as the registration centre as originally planned. Instead, the CVR operations will be relocated to the Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area office at 16 Customs Road, off Benin/Auchi Road, Benin City.
In light of this emergency situation, INEC has alerted relevant security agencies and emergency services to provide necessary assistance and support in managing the disaster’s aftermath.
This development underscores the vulnerability of essential infrastructure to natural calamities and the imperative of robust contingency planning to ensure the uninterrupted functioning of critical services, including electoral processes, in the face of unforeseen challenges.
