The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted that the Edo State governorship election will go on as planned.

The electoral body’s decision was announced on Wednesday by the INEC National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr Solomon Soyebi.

He spoke at a stakeholders’ meeting in Benin City, the state’s capital in south-south Nigeria.

Mr Soyebi was responding to the advice by the police and the Department of State Services (DSS), asking INEC to postpone the election scheduled to hold on Saturday over security concerns.

He said the commission had just been informed of the advice and would have to study it before any decision would be taken on it.

The police and the DSS had said that the advice was based on credible intelligence at their disposal, which suggested that insurgents were planning to attack vulnerable communities and soft targets with high population during the forthcoming Sallah celebrations between September 12 and 13.

The agencies highlighted Edo State as one of the states that have been earmarked for these planned attacks.

In a joint statement, they reminded the public that similar threats were earlier issued during the Labour Day and Democracy Day celebrations as well as the Eid-el-Fitr holidays in July, 2016.

Earlier on Monday, some candidates of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) writing the General Certificate Examination (GCE) in Edo State demanded for a shift in the date of the governorship election.

The election is scheduled to hold on September 10, but the students are asking the electoral body to postpone it.

Some of them staged a protest at the Government House in Benin City, the capital of Edo State, with placards emblazoned with their demands.

•Text courtesy of Channels TV.

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