By Tom Moses

UYO—Akwa Ibom State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Mr. Austin Okojie, yesterday justified the postponement of the general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to March 28 and April 11, 2015, disclosing that the commission will require 16, 016 support staff for the rescheduled elections.

The REC explained in an interview with Vanguard in Uyo, that the postponement of the elections would enable the commission at all levels to address the problems which would have emanated from insufficient Card Readers procurement and distribution, Personal Voter Cards, PVCs and other logistic issues.

Okojie expressed optimism that the period would enable the Federal Government and security agencies in the country to address the escalating security challenges in the North-Eastern part of the country.

Okojie noted that he will require 16, 016 support staff comprising Senior Polling Officers, SPOs, Presiding Officers, POs, Assistant Presiding Officers, National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, members, former NYSC members and final year students in Federal Government institutions for the conduct of the polls in the state.

Okojie, who was returning from supervision of centres where the ad-hoc staff, NYSC members, former NYSC members and other categories of staff were under-going training to ensure the conduct of a globally attested electoral standard, appealed to Akwa Ibom people to bear with the commission over the rescheduled elections.