By JOY ODIGIE

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Edo on Tuesday presented soft copies of voters register to political parties participating in the Sept. 21 Edo governorship election.

Dr Anugbum Onuoha, Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Edo, presented the register to the chairmen and secretaries of political parties and other officials at INEC office in Benin.

He also presented the register to Mr Olumide Akpata, candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the Edo governorship election.

Onuoha said that Akpata was given because of the leadership crisis rocking the party in the state which had polarised the party.

“The register will be presented to the party’s governorship candidate, Mr Olumide Akpata, as the sole candidate of the party in the election,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the LP has other executives led by Mr Kelly Ogbalo and Ms Elizabeth Ativie.

The REC said that the presentation of the register of voters to the political parties was in line with the relevant section of the Electoral Act.

He said that the act mandated the commission, to within 30 days to the election, present the voters register to political parties.

Speaking, Prof. Rhoda Gamus, the National INEC Commissioner, supervising Edo, Delta, and Bayelsa, said that a total of 2, 629, 025 voters registered for the governorship election in Edo.

Gamus urged the leadership of the political parties to mobilise their supporters to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

Mr Olatunde Olalere, Director of Voter Registry, said that the register had 1,370,061 males and 1,258, 964 female voters.

He added that 8,847 PVCs were transferred from other states to Edo while 109 voters transferred their PVCs from Edo to Ondo State.

According to him, Ikpoba Okha and Oredo local governments has the highest number of voters while Igueben Local Government has the lowest figure.

Earlier, the REC had briefed journalists in the state to keep them abreast with the distribution of PVCS and progress being made toward the conduct of the governorship election. (NAN)

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