03-07-2019, 08:45 AM
Guber Polls: We Didn’t Ask FG To Give Us Special Security In South-south — INEC
Thursday, March 07, 2019 politics
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A head of Saturday’s governorship and state Assembly elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied reports that it requested special security operatives to be mobilised to South-South states, especially Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, and Akwa Ibom.
President Muhammadu Buhari had on Tuesday met behind closed-doors with service chiefs and heads of security agencies at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, with a directive that more security agents be deployed to Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, and Akwa Ibom states.
It was also reported that the request for special security for the affected states was made by INEC, which had lamented the attacks on its officials and ad-hoc staff in the states during the presidential and National Assembly elections.
Many believe that the flooding of the states in question with security operatives is a calculated attempt to militarise the region and rig the elections in favour of the APC.
The APC recorded losses in the region in the presidential election.
However, speaking with Daily Independent, Festus Okoye, INEC’s National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, said he was not aware that the commission wrote to the Federal Government requesting for special security operatives for the affected states.
“I am in Makurdi as I speak right now. I am not privy to that information that we requested for special security for the South-South states as at now. If anything of such has happened, I am not aware,” Okoye said.
Also speaking on the development, Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, said the deployment of special security to the South-South was to allow APC rig the elections, having suffered a remarkable defeat in the presidential and National Assembly elections.
Yinka Odumakin, its National Publicity Secretary, said President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had been lamenting the inability of the APC to win in the region despite all they had done.
“It is obviously to perfect their rigging machine. Even the president and the vice president have been lamenting that they didn’t win Akwa Ibom in spite of all they did. The resident electoral commissioner stood firm to ensure free, fair, elections.
Thursday, March 07, 2019 politics
A head of Saturday’s governorship and state Assembly elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied reports that it requested special security operatives to be mobilised to South-South states, especially Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, and Akwa Ibom.
President Muhammadu Buhari had on Tuesday met behind closed-doors with service chiefs and heads of security agencies at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, with a directive that more security agents be deployed to Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, and Akwa Ibom states.
It was also reported that the request for special security for the affected states was made by INEC, which had lamented the attacks on its officials and ad-hoc staff in the states during the presidential and National Assembly elections.
Many believe that the flooding of the states in question with security operatives is a calculated attempt to militarise the region and rig the elections in favour of the APC.
The APC recorded losses in the region in the presidential election.
However, speaking with Daily Independent, Festus Okoye, INEC’s National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, said he was not aware that the commission wrote to the Federal Government requesting for special security operatives for the affected states.
“I am in Makurdi as I speak right now. I am not privy to that information that we requested for special security for the South-South states as at now. If anything of such has happened, I am not aware,” Okoye said.
Also speaking on the development, Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, said the deployment of special security to the South-South was to allow APC rig the elections, having suffered a remarkable defeat in the presidential and National Assembly elections.
Yinka Odumakin, its National Publicity Secretary, said President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had been lamenting the inability of the APC to win in the region despite all they had done.
“It is obviously to perfect their rigging machine. Even the president and the vice president have been lamenting that they didn’t win Akwa Ibom in spite of all they did. The resident electoral commissioner stood firm to ensure free, fair, elections.