Adamawa bye-election will hold – Security Committee

The Adamawa Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) said on Tuesday that the Oct. 11 governorship by-election in the state would hold in spite of security concerns in the area.

The assurance was contained in a statement jointly signed by AIG John Abakasanga, Chairman of ICCES, and the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Mr Kassim Gaidam.

It announced the suspension of the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards in Adamawa North Senatorial District, comprising Madagali, Michika, Mubi North, Mubi South and Maiha local government areas.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the date for the Adamawa State by-election stands 11th October 2014, and these resolutions are subject to the approval of the Chairman of INEC, Prof Attahiru Jega,” the statement said.

It said the distribution was suspended “until such a time when normalcy is restored to the aforementioned local government areas, meaning that voters in those areas shall use their Temporary Voters’ Cards (TVC) to vote for the elections”.

Meanwhile, INEC on Tuesday began issuing Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) in the state ahead of the governorship by-election.

The exercise, which commenced at 8:00 a.m., saw many eligible voters coming out at polling units in Yola to obtain their cards.

At Bako polling unit in Yola, many people were seen checking their names on the voters’ register while those who identified theirs queued to echange the cards.

Malam Musa Ibrahim, who collected his card, expressed delight at the development and expressed the hope that the election would be successful.

Hajara Yakubu, on her part, said she had yet to trace her name but would continue to check for it carefully before lodging a complaint if she failed to trace it.