No going back on Anambra governorship election, INEC, NSA vow

*NSA considers joint military operations

Tunde Opalana, Abuja

Growing security challenges in the South East region notwithstanding, both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the office of the National Security Adviser on Tuesday vowed to go ahead with the conduct of the Anambra State governorship election slated for November 6,2021.

The assurance was given at an emergency meeting of INEC with heads of various security agencies on way forward to conduct a safe, free, fair and credible governorship election in the state.

Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu during the emergency meeting of the Inter- Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) at the Commission’s headquarters, Abuja raised the concern over safety of election material, voters, electoral officers and ad – hoc staff, as well as security personnel before, during and after the election.

He mince no words in saying that the goal of many of the attackers is that the Governorship election scheduled for 6th November 2021 must not hold.

This, Yakubu said, is worrisome for the Commission, stressing that “we are deeply concerned that specific electoral facilities and materials could once more become targets of attack.

Recall that in May this year, our State Office at Awka was attacked and all the non-sensitive materials assembled for the election at the time were destroyed.

“Perhaps never before in our history has the importance of election security in a Governorship election been this urgent. The Commission is aware that this is by no means an easy task.

“We appreciate the enormous challenges that the security agencies are presently facing in Anambra State, which entail not only securing the electoral process, but also enforcing law and order generally. This is particularly worrisome because the security agencies have also become prime targets of these mindless attacks”.

Raising hope, the chairman said “happily, we have almost fully recovered from that attack. The destroyed buildings have either been completely repaired or are nearing completion and we have fully replaced the materials destroyed.

This rapid recovery has only been possible because this is an off-season election. We have sourced some of these materials such as the 326 electric generators and vehicles destroyed in the attack from neighbouring States.

” However, should we again lose vital materials and facilities, the ongoing preparations will be adversely affected.

“The Commission is particularly concerned about the safety of voters and Election Day staff, including security officials who have also become the targets of these attacks. The thousands of young Nigerians that we intend to deploy for the election, most of them National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and university students, need to be reassured of their personal safety.

“At the same time, deployment for the election will involve the movement of huge consignments of sensitive and non-sensitive materials to the 21 Local Government Areas of the State, 326 Wards or Registration Areas and 5,720 Polling Units.

“That means over 6,000 locations to be protected. If we add that to about 26,000 officials that will be deployed for the election, we begin to appreciate the magnitude of the challenge of securing the Anambra Governorship election which is only thirty-two (32) days from today.

Prof. Yakubu promised that INEC will continue to work with the security agencies and in consultation with respected opinion leaders in Anambra State and the National Peace Committee to ensure that these hit-and-run attacks do not derail the electoral process.

The commission also assured the people of Anambra State that it is determined to proceed with the election as scheduled.

“To underscore this determination, the Commission is implementing two more activities on the Timetable for the election in the next few days. The register of voters will be presented to political parties in Awka on Thursday 7th October 2021. On the same day, the Commission will publish the final list of candidates for the election.

“We are confident that at the end of this meeting, we will firm up on specific measures necessary to further guarantee the safety of all persons involved in the election from the voters, election officials, observers, media organisations and the security of election materials”, he said.

On his part, the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno said though security challenges in the South East posses major threat to the Anambra governorship election but the challenges are not insurmountable.

Represented by Alhaji Sanusi Galadima, the NSA said his office in conjuncture with other security organisations is putting in place adequate measure which may include a joint military operations to contain any uprising against the election.

The security adviser also promised that his office will enlist the cooperation of the five South East governors to deal with security challenges in the zone while urging citizens in the geopolitical zone to join hands with security agencies by obeying all strategies put in.place by the office of the NSA.