INEC says it will enter into strategic partnership with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to ensure an effective distribution of materials and personnel ahead of the 2019 elections.
Prof Godswill Obioma, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ebonyi, said this at a meeting attended by representatives of the 29 branches of the NURTW and INEC officials on Saturday in Abakaliki.
Obioma commended the union for the previous partnership with the commission in the area of transport arrangements.
The REC said that transportation was a critical component of election involving timely movement of INEC personnel and electoral materials.
According to him, elections are held between 8a.m. and 4p. m., it becomes pertinent that adequate transportation arrangements are made to ensure that INEC officials and materials are moved to designated election centres on time.
He said the meeting was in line with the directives from the commission national headquarters that state offices of INEC should hold meetings with its strategic partners on election planning.
The REC told members of the NURTW that the meeting was to enable the commission embark on early transportation planning.
He said that the initiative would also help the commission to overcome avoidable mobility challenges.
Obioma said that the meeting was a follow up to an earlier meeting held between the commission and the union.
The REC said that a nine-man joint sub-committee to work out the modalities for effective engagement of the transporters would be constituted at the end of the meeting.
