The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says all its 30 ad-hoc staff in Olamaboro Local Government area of Kogi are safe and back in their respective homes after the Saturday’s governorship election.

The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, stated this in a statement issued on Sunday, in Abuja.

Oyekanmi said the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had personally spoken with some of the ad-hoc staff who confirmed their safety.

He said that they were all hale and hearty, adding that none of them was either injured or killed.

“We can now confirm that all the 30 ad-hoc staff, engaged for the 2019 Kogi governorship election and posted to polling units 002, 006 and 013 at Olamaboro III, and polling units 006, 012, 015, 016, 022 at Imani 1, all in Olamaboro council area, have been accounted for.

“They are safe, sound and are back in their respective homes. The chairman of the commission has personally spoken with some of them and they confirmed that they were hale and hearty.

“These election-day duty staff could not be accounted for initially, following the violent attacks by some armed thugs at their respective duty posts after the close of polls.

“The commission has established that none of them was either injured or killed. They were able to successfully conclude the result collation process before the commotion started,’’ he said.

Oyekanmi further said that the collated election results at local government level were now being announced at the state collation centre at the commission’s state office in Lokoja.

An online medium had initial reported that the electoral commission had declared 30 of its ad-hoc staff posted to Olamaboro council area for the Saturday election missing.

The report also said that they were still not seen as at 1am. on Sunday, during the final collation of results in the local government.

It added that the missing INEC staff included presiding officers (POs) and assistant presiding officers (APOs) of polling units in Imane wards I and II in the council area.