By Godfrey AKON
The Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has called on security agencies to ensure early deployment of personnel and other assets for Edo and Ondo states off-cycle governorship elections.
Yakubu, who made the call at a meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES, in Abuja, on Friday, urged them to replicate the success of Edo and Ondo states governorship elections in 2020.
He said “It is important to start security preparations very early. In particular, the number of personnel and other assets to be deployed to strategic locations should be determined and mobilised early enough.
“It was this proactive approach that led to the successful conduct of the last Governorship election in Edo State on 19th September 2020 and in Ondo State on 10th October 2020.
“There were no security incidents, materials were delivered promptly, logistics deployed smoothly, Polling Units opened on time, voters attended to efficiently and results collated and announced transparently.”
The INEC chairman explained that “both Edo and Ondo States have 18 Local Government Areas each. At the moment, Edo has 2,501,081 registered voters, 192 Registration Areas/Wards and 4,519 Polling Units while Ondo State has 1,991,344 registered voters, 203 Registration Areas/Wards and 3,933 Polling Units.
“However, the terrain differs in the two States. While there are a few riverine locations in Edo State, two Local Government Areas in Ondo State (Ese Odo and Ilaje) are predominantly riverine.
According to him, 18 political parties in Edo State have commenced the uploading of the list and personal particulars of their candidates to INEC dedicated web portal, adding that so far, 12 political parties have uploaded the list of their candidates to the portal, ahead of the 6pm deadline on Sunday 24th March 2024 when the portal automatically shuts down.
He said for Ondo State, 17 out of 19 political parties have indicated interest in participating in the election and will commence their primaries in the next two weeks.
Yakubu also condemned the recent gruesome killing of officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army on a peace mission in Delta State, and expressed confidence that the ongoing investigation will lead to the speedy arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the heinous crime.
Also speaking, the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, assured of heavy deployment of security personnel to ensure a hitch free exercise in both states, stating that there will be no room for lapses.
Represented by the Director of Internal Security at the NSA office, Hassan Abdullahi, he said the success of personnel deployment and effective security in previous elections will be reenacted in the Edo and Ondo elections.
On his part, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, who was represented at the meeting by the Commissioner of Police, Election Planning and Monitoring, Basil Idegwu, said the police would partner with other security agencies to provide adequate security during the polls.
Egbetokun called for the support of INEC, Security agencies and other stakeholders to ensure hitch free elections.
