The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced the distribution of sensitive materials ahead of the November 8 Anambra State governorship election.

The exercise, which took place at the Awka branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), saw party agents supervising the distribution process under the close watch of security operatives.

The materials distributed include Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and Forms EC8A and EC8B, which will be deployed to the Registration Area Centres (RACs) across the state.

Speaking during the exercise, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Queen Elizabeth Agwu, said:

“What we are doing here at the Central Bank is the delivery of sensitive materials, including BVAS, Forms EC8A and EC8B, for the Saturday election.”

In a related development, the Commissioner of Police in charge of election security, CP Abayomi Shogunle, announced an increase in the number of security personnel from the initially planned 45,000 to between 55,000 and 60,000.

According to him, the deployment includes operatives from the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), NDLEA, and other security agencies.

“The increase is not to scare eligible voters but to guarantee effective operations and protection of voters and electoral officials,” he said.

Shogunle added that the deployment aims to ensure the presence of at least three security operatives in every polling unit across the state, assuring that the election would be free, fair, and transparent.