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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday
denied that specific states will miss Saturday’s National Assembly due to
ballot paper issues, saying the commission will be certain of the affected
areas after an ongoing assessment ending Thursday.

Officials said the announcement specifying the areas affected,
which the Chief Press Secretary, Kayode Idowu, had earlier said will be “few”,
will be made by the commission’s chairman, Attahiru Jega on Thursday, two days
before the rescheduled elections on Saturday.

Mr Idowu said the position will be clear after an internal audit
of the materials deployed on Saturday which will enable the commission to be
certain of the extent of the errors recorded on the ballot papers, and where
there are needs of reprint.

“It may not even be states or local governments, but it may be
mere wards, just a few places,” he said yesterday.

The situation ahead of the shifted election nationwide remained
unclear yesterday after a prolonged meeting between Mr Jega and the 36 Resident
Electoral Commissioners (REC) in Abuja which lasted for more than seven hours.

Chairman shuns conference

Mr Jega shunned a press conference earlier billed to hold after
the meeting with the RECs late in the evening, amid a waft of speculations
spreading from an overhaul of the states’ logistics mechanism, to allegations
that he again offered to resign. His aides denied any of such came up at the
meeting. “We do not respond to rumours,” said Mr Idowu.

The commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Emmanuel Umenger,
and Mr Idowu, said Mr Jega took “far reaching” decisions at the meeting with
the RECs, issuing fresh directives particularly on logistics and transportation
plans for the elections.

A review of the process of last Saturday, when massive shortage
of materials forced a postponement of the election, was made and each REC was
asked to present a report, they said.

They added that Mr Jega delayed an address after the meeting to
allow for the completion of certain directives on the RECs who will deliver a
feedback before Thursday. However, staff conversant with the discussions at the
meeting, said the delay was to conclude the assessment of the materials to
allow the commission to be certain on the areas where elections will not hold
on Saturday.