By Dipo Olowookere
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has postponed the governorship election in Edo State by two weeks.
The exercise was supposed to hold on Saturday, September 10, 2016, but has now been shifted to Wednesday, September 28, 2016.
The police and the DSS had on Wednesday advised the electoral body to shift the poll to another day because of terrorists’ threats.
But INEC maintained on Thursday morning that it would go on with the exercise, only to make a U-turn on Thursday evening to announce the postponement.
Addressing the media on Thursday night in Benin City, the Edo State capital, INEC National Commissioner, Voter Education and Publicity, Mr Solomon Soyebi, disclosed that, “At 6pm today, we received official communication from the police and DSS, drawing our attention to the need to postpone the Edo governorship election.
“Consequently, the commission notes the request of the security agencies and, considering the security implications of proceeding with the election, the safety of eligible voters, electoral officials, including ad hoc staff and other stakeholders, has decided to reschedule the governorship election to Wednesday, 28 September, 2016.
“The commission enjoins all eligible voters in Edo State, political parties, candidates and other stakeholders to be peaceful and law abiding.”