By Ben Ngwakwe, Gombe
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has distributed sensitive electoral materials to the relevant local government areas ahead of Saturday’s by-election for the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency of Gombe State
The exercise was conducted on Friday at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) premises in Gombe in the presence of political party agents, members of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), security personnel, CBN officials and journalists
The by-election is scheduled for Saturday, September 19, 2026, with 495,851 registered voters expected to participate across the constituency
Speaking with journalists after the distribution exercise, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in charge of Gombe State, Alhaji Umar Muktar Gajiram, said the sensitive materials had been distributed to their respective areas for onward deployment to polling units on election day
Gajiram said the exercise was conducted in the presence of relevant stakeholders as part of measures to promote transparency and confidence in the electoral process
He explained that the commission’s endorsements and signatures on the sensitive electoral materials were part of the authentication process to establish their validity
According to him, the measures were intended to ensure that only duly certified electoral materials were deployed for the election
The REC urged political parties, candidates and their supporters to abide by the terms of the Peace Accord signed at the Gombe State Police Command ahead of the poll
He called on all stakeholders to maintain peace and ensure that the by-election was conducted in an orderly atmosphere
Gajiram expressed hope that political parties and their candidates would honour the commitments contained in the Peace Accord, stressing the importance of collective responsibility in ensuring a peaceful and successful election