The Independent National Electoral Commission has said it will meet with security agencies in the country over the forthcoming governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.
The election in Kogi State is scheduled for November 21, while that of Bayelsa is slated for December 5.
The Director of Voter Education and Publicity, INEC, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, in a telephone interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, said the preparations were underway for a smooth conduct of the polls.
He said, “I cannot speak for the resident commissioner but I know that recruiting and training is ongoing, so there is no problem with corps members and the usual officials. The IG has met with the acting chairman (of INEC) and they have discussed a little bit.
“They have been with the commissioner of police repeatedly and the Director of the DSS. Next week, there will be a meeting with the Inter-Agency Confluence Committee, where all the major security agencies will meet with INEC, co-chaired by the chairman. Preparations are ongoing but the formal meeting will hold next week (this week).
“Many parties had their primaries and we were waiting for submission of their lists of candidates. In everything we do, we either invite IPAC or the individual parties. We wrote to them and gave them a timetable, which they accepted. Many of them have held their congresses.”
Osaze-Uzzi noted that the commission would present the confirmed list of candidates to the political parties in the state this week, adding that it had also published the register of voters in line with the Electoral Act.
“Next week, as provided by the Electoral Act, we will give the certified list to the parties. We have published the register of voters for the elections. So the next major item, as provided by the law, is for us to come up with the list of candidates for the elections,” the INEC official said.
Meanwhile, the police had expressed readiness for the coming governorship elections in the two states.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawole, stated that the governorship elections “will be the best in terms of security in the country.”
According to her, the security for the polls was part of the discussions at the strategic police conference convened by the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, last Tuesday in Abuja, which was attended by senior police officers.
Kolawole explained that the police had mapped out security strategies to ensure that the elections were violence-free, noting that the necessary equipment and manpower would be deployed to the two states shortly before the polls.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Counter -Terrorism Directorate, Mr. Weixiong Chen has assured Nigeria of the support of the UN in the fight against terrorism.
Arase had said the police needed support to combat terrorism in the areas of capacity building, international cooperation and mechanism for coordinating operational activities of all law enforcement agencies with counter-terrorism mandate.
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