The National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has said the commission would not postpone Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination scheduled to hold on the same day. Yakubu disclosed this during a stakeholders’ meeting held in Benin, the state capital.There had also been calls for the postponement of the poll to a later date to allow the students exercise their rights to vote. According to Yakubu, “The issue is, basically, security. So, the security agencies advised WAEC accordingly that giving room for people to move around may pose some challenges because many people will cash in on the situation.
“Permit me to remind you also that there are about 1.9 million registered voters in Edo State, whose interest also should be taken care of. At the end of that meeting, we agreed that the exams be shifted outside Edo State to places that are nearby. Indeed, WAEC had even concluded arrangements to do this. It suggested Ore, Agbor and one other place. Yes, there might be some inconveniences for the students to travel outside Edo State; but, of course, it is not too much pain to bear if you have your state at heart. I do not think we need to suspend an election because WAEC is going to conduct GCE. It is not SSCE but GCE for those who did not do well in the past exams.”
