The unrestrained destruction of public institutions and infrastructure continued in Ebonyi State weekend as some unknown persons set fire to the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Izzi.
Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Ebonyi State, Mrs Onyeka Pauline Ugochi, who confirmed the arson said the office was located at Iboko, the headquarters of Izzi Council. According to the REC, the incident occurred around 10.00 am (Sunday) when some unidentified persons set the entire building ablaze.
A statement by Festus Okoye, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee 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).”
Okoye also said that the attention of the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies has been drawn to the incident and have commenced investigation adding that “this is the third attack on our Local Government office in less than three weeks following similar attacks on our offices in Ogun and Osun States on 10th November 2022.”
