Thee Oyo State police command on Wednesday
arrested a lorry conveying ballot boxes said to
belong to the Independent National Electoral
Commission around 2am in the Yemetu area of
Ibadan.
The ballot boxes were stored in a 40-feet
container.
Sources said that the trailer was arrested on the
suspicion that it was carrying contraband items but
was later discovered that its contents were ballot
boxes meant for the next month election in Osun
State.

It was learnt that the trailer and the consignment
were later released after police investigation
revealed that the boxes were being transported to
Osun State by INEC.
However, the arrest created anxiety in political
circles as politicians made effort to know if the
boxes were empty or stuffed with ballot papers.
At a point, rumour spread in the city that a certain
political party had connived with INEC to bring in
thumb-printed ballot papers into Oyo State.
A source said, “A trailer carrying a 40-feet
container with registration number FKJ 285 XN was
actually impounded by the police but after a
thorough check, it was cleared and released.”
The spokesman for the Oyo State Police Command,
Mr. Kayode Ajisebutu, could not confirm the
incident. He said he was outside the state and
could not get through to the Commissioner of
Police.
Meanwhile, the immediate past Cross River State
Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Mike Igini,
has said INEC will no longer be the tool for
manipulation by some politicians but a national
institution committed to the conduct of free, fair
and credible elections.
Igini, who said this on Wednesday at the unveiling
of INEC Conference Hall in Calabar, also decried
the lack of internal democracy in political parties.
Igini said, “This year’s election will be a watershed,
a paradigm shift that would bring about the hope of
integrity and reliability unequalled in our electoral
history. At all times we strive to do what is right.
The commission will no longer be the tool for
manipulation by some politicians.
“Our commitment to do the right thing was initially
misunderstood especially our emphasis on internal
party democracy which is still a problem today,
where parties do not even have a minimum
requirement of credible register of delegates before
conducting elections.
“It is inconsiderable that INEC would conduct
elections that would be acceptable by the Nigerian
people without having a register of voters
published. The foundation of any good elections
must start with the existence of a credible and
reliable register of voters,” he said.
He thanked the INEC membrs of staff for their
commitment.
The REC said the Conference Hall christened
“Democracy Hall” would serve for conducting INEC
activities, especially collation of results, after 25
years of hiring venues.
The INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, who was
represented by the Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Calabar, Prof. James Epoke, said Igini
had made a change for the better in INEC both
infrastructural and in entrenching the right mindset.
He said such should be the character of political
leaders, who should always leave where they were
better than they met it.
Jega, who inaugurated the hall, hoped the new REC
would do the right thing.
The state chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory
Committee, Mr. Goddie Akpama, said under Igini’s
watch the state was a hallmark of free, fair and
credible elections.


Source: http://www.punchng.com/news/police-arrest-lorry-with-ballot-boxes-in-ibadan/

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