Without secure environment, Feb 3 bye- elections is imperiled - INEC tasks NSA, IGP, security agencies

By Tunde Opalana

National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, heads of security agencies in the country have been tasked to ensure adequate securing of voting environment during the bye- elections and re- run elections in 39 constituencies across some states of the federation on Saturday, February 3, 2024.

Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu tasked the security community on Tuesday at a meeting of the Inter- Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.

Though election is a multi-stakeholder responsibility, Yakubu said it is the responsibility of security agencies to secure the environment to enable INEC deploy personnel and materials, the protection of observers, the media as well as the polling and collation agents representing the political parties and candidates.

“Without a secure and peaceful environment, the conduct of credible elections is imperilled,” he warned.

The INEC chairman said from experience, the conduct of isolated elections such as bye-elections and re-run elections can be very challenging.

He therefore asked security agencies to pay attention to the potentials for disruptive behaviour by some candidates and their supporters.

He said “a re-run election conducted in one Polling Unit or a handful of Polling Units can be severely disrupted by acts of thuggery knowing full well that these few locations will determine the outcome of the election.

“Arising from the reports we received from the States, concerns have been raised about the impact of the prevailing insecurity in some States on the conduct of the elections, made worse by incendiary statements by some political actors. We will present such concerns and reports at this meeting for appropriate security response.

“Your task as members of ICCES is to ensure security for the elections.”

To assist security agencies function, Yakubu said , the Commission has already provided to the Nigeria Police Force, as the lead agency in election security, the full information of the locations where the elections will be held broken down by States, Local Government Areas, Registration Areas/Wards and Polling Units.

“We have similarly provided the number of registered voters and Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) collected in each Polling Unit. The same information will be shared at this meeting with other members of ICCES. The updated information will be also be uploaded to the Commission’s website and social media platforms for public information immediately after this meeting,” he added.

According to the chairman, there are two categories of elections. First are the bye-elections arising from the death or resignation of members of the National and State legislative houses affecting two Senatorial Districts, four Federal and three State Assembly Constituencies. The second category is the re-run elections by order of Election Petition Appeal Tribunals.

He stated further that “the elections affect 35 National and State Constituencies. Since then, four additional orders of the Court of appeal have been served on the Commission in respect of Yabo/Shagari Federal Constituency of Sokoto State, Madara/Chinade State Constituency of Bauchi State as well as Kudan and Kauru/Chawai State Constituencies of Kaduna State. This brings the total number of affected constituencies to 39 which translates to 2.6% of the 1,491 Constituencies for which elections were conducted nationwide in the 2023 General Election.

“The nine bye-elections are fresh elections covering the entire constituencies. However, with the exception of three Constituencies (Plateau North Senatorial District and Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency in Plateau State and Kachia/Kagarko Federal Constituency in Kaduna State), the re-run elections are to be held in a few Polling Units. In some cases, only one Polling Unit is affected in an entire Federal or State Constituency.”

National Security Advisor, who is the Co- Chairman of ICCES, represented by the Director Internal Security in his office, Hassan Abdullah, commended INEC for it’s doggedness and adequate involvement of security agencies in the conduct of recent elections in the country.

The NSA assured Nigerians of adequate coordination of security agencies in the country to fashion out proactive measures for election security.

He also promised that his office will deploy human and financial resources to ensure efficient delivery of the February elections in peaceful and conducive environment.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Inspector General of Police, Egbetokun also assured all stakeholders to be involved in next weekend polls of adequate security .

He said “there will be safety of electorates, safety of election materials . We are going to ensure that the election is conducted free and fair”.

Present at the meeting was the new chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Crimes Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adams Aliyu and heads of various security agencies and para- military organizations.