Edo polls: NUPENG says DSS, police threat to democracy

Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has condemned the advice by the police and DSS to postpone the Edo State governorship poll slated for this Saturday, saying the advice is a threat to democracy.

Achese Igwe, president of NUPENG, reacting to the issue on Wednesday, stated that the primary responsibility of the security agencies was to protect lives and properties, and believed it had failed in its responsibility to do so.

NUPENG warned that the police and DSS should not drag the wheel of democracy backward, as they had ample time to beef-up security in the state even with the deployment of 25,000 personnel.

The union warned that the advice was defeatist, uncalled for, unjustified and a failure on the part of the security agencies, and that NUPENG was saying that Nigeria workers were watching and INEC must conduct the election on Saturday.

NUPENG advised the security agencies to provide the necessary security, as it was shocking to hear such comments from them, saying the advice was unheard of, and wondered what then their responsibility was.

The union called on INEC to go ahead with the poll, “except that they want the world to believe that they have a hidden agenda.”