The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Edo state, Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, has reported that the Commission’s state headquarters in Benin City was completely flooded following a torrential rainfall on Friday May24, 2024.
According to a statement by the National Commissioner & Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee Sam Olumekun, preliminary assessment showed that the heavy downpour damaged a section of the building.
He noted that movable and immovable items were submerged, including vehicles parked at the premises as well as office furniture and equipment.
According to him, “Some of the voter enrollment machines already configured for the forthcoming Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) are affected. However, the Commission is delivering additional machines from the neighbouring States to make up for the shortfall.
“We are determined to ensure that the CVR in all the 192 Wards across Edo State will proceed on Monday 27th November 2024 as scheduled”, he said.
He, however, noted that in view of the emergency situation, the State Headquarters will not serve as a registration centre as planned, adding that the exercise will now take place in the Commission’s Ikpoba Okha LGA office located at 16 Customs Road, off Benin/Auchi Road, Benin City.
He explained that the attention of the security agencies and emergency services has been drawn to the incident.
