340 Ballot Boxes, PVCs Lost As Hoodlums Set Ebonyi INEC Office Ablaze

Over 340 ballot boxes and many Permanent Voters Cards were lost on Sunday when hoodlums set the INEC office in Ebonyi State on fire.

The office is located in Iboko, Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, disclosed this in a statement issued Sunday night in Abuja.

Okoye said that the Resident Electoral Commissioner REC for Ebonyi State, Onyeka Pauline Ugochi, reported that the commission’s office in the local government was set ablaze on Sunday morning.

“The incident occurred around 10am when some unidentified persons set the entire building ablaze,” said Okoye.

He said although no casualties resulted from the attack, “the main building and all the movable and immovable items inside it were destroyed.

“These include 340 ballot boxes, 130 voting cubicles, 14 electric power generators, large water storage tanks, assorted office furniture and fixtures and yet to be determined quantities of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs).

“The attention of the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies has been drawn to the incident and have commenced investigation,” said Okoye.