A torrential heavy down pour has destroyed parts of the state headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The down pour, according to a statement by the commission on Saturday, caused flooding, which submerged moveble and immovable items, vehicles parked at the premises and also destroyed furniture and equipment at the office.
Also affected by the flood are some voter enrolment machines already configured for the continuous voter registration ( CVR).
However the Head, Information and Voter Education Committee of the Commission, Sam Olumekun in a statement said that the CVR scheduled to take place at Benin, INEC state headquarters will no longer hold as a result of the flooding but will now hold at Ikpoba Okha LGA office located at 16 Customs Road, off Benin/Auchi Road, Benin City.
The statement reads: “Our Resident Electoral Commissioner for Edo State, Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, has reported that our State Headquarters in Benin City was completely flooded following a torrential rainfall yesterday Friday 24th May 2024.
“Preliminary assessment shows that the heavy downpour damaged a section of the building. Movable and immovable items were submerged, including vehicles parked at the premises as well as office furniture and equipment.
“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.
“In view of the emergency situation, the State Headquarters will not serve as a registration centre as planned. Instead, the exercise will now take place in our Ikpoba Okha LGA office located at 16 Customs Road, off Benin/Auchi Road, Benin City.
“Meanwhile, the attention of the security agencies and emergency services has been drawn to the incident.”