Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make adequate provisions for the over two million internally displaced persons in the state ahead of 2023 elections.
He made the call during a round table discussion tagged; “Contemporary security challenges and the effects on 2023 General Elections” organized by the Platinum Post in Abuja recently.
According to a report by Punch, the governor, who was represented by Prof. Magdalene Dura, his Special Adviser on Millennium Development Goals, said INEC should create polling units at IDP camps and also engage its members as ad-hoc staff during the elections.
This, he said would ensure credibility of the elections at such centres while giving them a sense of belonging saying “there is need for government and INEC to ensure credibility of the electoral process.”
He also expressed concern on the fate of over two million IDPs in his state who have been rendered homeless as a result of insurgency.
He appealed to the federal government to come to the aid of IDPs in Benue as it is doing to IDPs in other parts of the country.