LG polls: We don’t import voting materials – KANSIEC

As the much awaited local government elections in Kano is slated for January,16, 2021, Chairman Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), Professor Garba Ibrahim Sheka has confirmed that the  commission is no longer importing  election materials from a foreign country.

Speaking to newsmen on the preparations of the commission for conduct of the forthcoming election, Sheka said importing such materials had a serious financial implication on the resources of the state government, adding that importing the materials would have the tendency of delaying the conduct of the exercise.

He said, “we have had a bitter experience in the hands of the contracting firm that handled the previous exercise. The materials we ordered for, arrived at Kano hours to the commencement of voting. We would not allow such a scenario to play out this time around in order to ensure a hitch-free election”.

“We are going to patronize our local contractors in producing the materials needed for the exercise. we have not envisaged any obstacle in the conduct of the election. our local contractors have the wherewithal to produce what is needed for the entire exercise. we have no doubt about this” he added.

“As an economist, I am conscious of    the nitty gritty involved in relaying on foreign firms to produce the election  materials.  we have taken into cognizance the heavy toll the Covid-19  has taken on our economy. We are willing to reduce the huge financial burden. What we are to spend this year would be less compared to what we have spent on the previous elections,” he stated.

On the expenditure to be incurred by the commission in the conduct of the elections, the chairman, however, stated that it would be difficult for the electoral body to categorically give the precise  figures , considering myriad of demands to be met during the elections, assuring that as soon as the election was concluded, the figures would be made available.

He also stated that the commission  had engaged the services of 48,000 ad-hoc staff for the local government election to be adequately handled  stressing that the issue of ensuring fairness and credibility would be the major cardinal thrust of the commission’s conduct.     

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