Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, has bowed to pressure from a coalition of eight political parties in Oyo State against the engagement of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state to facilitate the transportation of election materials.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that Jega has directed the Resident Electoral Commission in state, Ambassador Rufus Akeju, to explore other means of getting electoral officials and materials transported for the March 28 and April 11 polls.

Except the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which voted in support of the INEC/NURTW partnership for elections in the state, eight parties opposed the decision and cited the partisanship of the transport body and its history of violence as some of the reasons for their opposition.

The opposing parties, which had petitioned the INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, were: Accord Party, Labour Party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), KOWA Party, African Peoples Alliance (APA), Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

“The Oyo State NURTW, through their executive council, has been fingered in many politically motivated violence and brigandage which at times, resulted in the death of innocent people while some sustained serious injuries,” the parties had said in their February 17 petition to Jega.

They had advised INEC to direct the electoral officers in each of the 33 local government areas in the state to hire commercial buses or private commercial vehicles and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with them with the security operatives involved to avert a breach of the agreement.

Kayode Idowu, Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Jega, confirmed the development to the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, saying that the Oyo State office of the commission had been told to look for other avenue and disengage with the NURTW for election purpose.