The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged security agencies to maintain strict neutrality and take decisive action against those who promote violence and other undemocratic activities such as vote buying, attacks on election officials and disruption of the electoral process.
INEC chairman, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu stated this in Abuja yesterday during a meeting to review the 2023 general election with members of Inter Agency Consultative Committee on election Security.
He also called for improvement in security ahead of the governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi State.
“As we review the conduct of the last general election, we also need to focus our attention on the forthcoming bye-elections and the three off-cycle Governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states,” he said.
Yakubu further said he is aware that campaigns in public in the three States commenced on 14th July 2023 and will continue until Thursday, 9th November 2023 – 24 hours before the opening of polls on Saturday, November 11, 2023.
According to him, there are already ominous signs in the form of violent clashes between opposing political parties and candidates.
“While maintaining strict neutrality, security agencies should take decisive action against purveyors of violence and other undemocratic activities such as vote buying, attacks on election officials and disruption of the electoral process,” the INEC chairman said.
Yakubu said although INEC drives the electoral process, a secure environment for the conduct of peaceful elections was the responsibility of the security agencies working in partnership with the Commission.
He said the synergy enabled the Commission to overcome many of the challenges prior to the 2023 General Election as the concern that the perennial insecurity in some parts of country before the election may affect deployment of personnel and materials, and consequently the conduct of polls did not materialise.
In his remarks, the national security adviser and co-chairman (ICCES) Malam Nuhu Ribadu who was attending the meeting for the first time said the security agencies would work together to ensure that some of the challenges witnessed during the general election were eliminated.
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