The Federal Government has issued a stern warning to politicians against resorting to violence and malpractices ahead of the forthcoming by-elections in 12 states as well as the Anambra governorship election and next year’s Area Council Polls in the Federal Capital Territory FCT.
This is as the government said that it would come down hard on erring politicians who might want to test its might, stressing that it would intensify intelligence efforts to monitor and preempt any threats to the elections and to enable real-time proactive measures.
National Security Adviser NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, gave the warning on Friday, in Abuja at the second regular consultative meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security ICCES hosted by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC.
DAILY POST reports that INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu had listed all the elections to be conducted between now and February next year, urging security agencies to do the needful in securing the areas.
Yakubu, while noting that the security situation in Anambra State is calmer than what it was on the eve of the last Governorship election four years ago, urged ICCES members to use the forthcoming resumption of the Continuous Voter Registration CVR to fine-tune their preparations for securing the forthcoming elections.
“As we plan for the bye-elections, Anambra State Governorship election and the resumption of the CVR, I call on the security agencies to make adequate and proactive arrangements for the protection of personnel and assets to be deployed by the Commission and all stakeholders for these activities.
“There are some specific areas of security concern raised at our consultative meetings with Political Parties, Civil Society Organisations and the Media earlier this week. These concerns will be presented to you for your necessary action at this meeting,”; Yakubu said.
Ribadu, who was represented by the Director, Internal Security, Office of the National Security Adviser ONSA, Hassan Y Abdullahi, said; “Our primary objective remains to safeguard the integrity of the upcoming elections. Therefore, we must ensure that eligible voters exercise their right to vote without fear or intimidation. In this regard, we will strengthen collaboration between security and law enforcement agencies to quickly address potential threats and challenges during the elections.
“Accordingly, the security component of ICCES will, among other things, intensify intelligence efforts to monitor and pre-empt any threats to these elections and provide real-time intelligence to enable the implementation of proactive measures. This is especially in States that are infested with recalcitrant subversive non-state actors who could be exploited by desperate politicians to undermine the elections.
“We will also maintain dialogue with the leadership of political parties and candidates to foster understanding and reduce tensions, as engagement with these stakeholders has proven effective in the past and should remain a priority.
