THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has deployed additional five Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and three   National   Commissioners (NCs) to Edo state in preparation for the September 19 Governorship election in the state.

The five additional RECs who are drawn from five geopolitical zones of the country are expected to work in union with the Edo State REC, Johnson Alalibo.

Out of the six geo-political zones of the country, no participant from the South-South was deployed to Edo State to participate in the supervision of the election conduct.

INEC top official who disclosed this yesterday in Abuja did not name the five RECs that have been deployed to Edo State. The source said that the two National Commissioners are not of South-South extraction, adding that refusal to disclose the identities of those on redeployment was to safeguard them from excessive pressure from desperate politicians.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official said that those redeployed are to ensure that the Commission maintained a high level of neutrality and fairness in the electoral process.

The INEC Senior official also revealed that the General Abdusalami Abubakar, rtd-led National Peace Committee will meet in Benin, next Tuesday with politicians, Governorship candidates of Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Congress, and others for peace accord.

The source said that 13,000 staff and 211 Electoral officers will be deployed to Edo State for the election and having admitted that the present occurring violence and during the election was frightening and worrying, said that the Commission was doing everything possible to conduct a free, fair and credible election and was set to ensure transparency of the process with no favoritism attached.

The source said: “We’re prepared to conduct the elections and we are doing everything possible to ensure that it is free and fair. But we are worried about the threats of violence and we are not unmindful of the antics of the politicians.   Violence will make the election inconclusive because we will be forced to pull out our men and materials from the field if violence becomes the order of the day.

“Section 53 of the Electoral Act prohibits INEC from marking a declaration of results in any place where there is violence. This is why we have continued to warn all parties to shun violence and allow the process to go on under a free and fair atmosphere.

“We are keeping our eyes on the process. We are not a political party. We have no candidates in the election. I swear by God that we don’t care who wins the election. Our interest is in the integrity of the process.”