The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has refuted claims by Senator Ahmed Ogembe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) representing the people of Kogi Central Senatorial zone, of ballot papers being thumb printed at the home of Governor Yahaya in Kogi State.
Senator Ahmed Ogembe had a few hours ago drawn the attention of INEC and the Nigerian Police Force to the allegation, where he took to his social media page to say that the ballot papers meant for Kogi Central Senatorial district have somehow found their way into the hands of leaders of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, and that they are currently being thumb printed at the residence of Governor Yahaya Bello in Okene.
In a swift response, INEC released a statement saying it’s attention has been drawn to the allegation, and that it is false, as all sensitive electoral materials are either with the Commission, or in the vaults of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
See the statement by INEC:
“INEC’s attention has been drawn to stories that ballot papers have found their way to the hands of politicians who are thumb printing same for their favoured party.
Specifically, reference has been made to Kogi Central Senatorial District. This allegation is not true, as all sensitive materials are in the Commission’s custody or in the Central Bank’s vaults. The stamps in the ballot papers displayed do not represent any of the official stamps to be used in the forthcoming election.
It should be noted that only duly stamped and dated ballot papers with the endorsement of the INEC Presiding Officer’s signature are valid and will be counted.”
Senator Ahmed Ogembe with Twitter handle @AhmedOgembe had put up this post on Sunday evening, saying:
My attention has been drawn to the fact that ballot papers meant for Kogi Central senatorial district has found its way into the hands of APC leaders and they are currently thumb printing at Gov. Yahaya Bello’s house, GRA Okene.
@inecnigeria and @PoliceNG
should please take note
