The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied awarding a contract for the printing of sensitive election materials to the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State, Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed.

INEC, while dismissing reports that it awarded the contract to a company belonging to the APC governorship candidate, said Ahmed was not listed as one of the Directors of Binani Printing Press Limited before it awarded the contract to the company.

The electoral umpire made this known via a statement issued on Thursday by the commission’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye.

The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to a news report that the Commission awarded a contract for the printing of sensitive election materials to Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed.

READ ALSO: Electoral malpractices: INEC blacklists 100 ad hoc staff in A’Ibom

“It was alleged in the report that she owns Binani Printing Press Limited.

“Procurements in the Commission go through open competitive bidding and Binani Printing Press Limited was one of the security printing companies that applied to print security documents for the Commission.

“After inspecting the company’s facility and carrying out due diligence at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Commission was satisfied that they are qualified printers with the requisite technical capacity, security consciousness and expertise in printing security documents.

“However, Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed was not listed as one of the Directors of Binani Printing Press Limited.”

Okoye noted that INEC decided to print all the security documents for the 2023 general election in the country to help Nigerian printers and assist in growing the national economy.

“The Commission will continue to carry out due diligence in its procurement activities,” he added.

The Star