• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Kogi guber: INEC, police promise violence-free credible poll

INEC officials

As Kogi State gubernatorial election draws nearer,   the Kogi command of the Nigeria Police has promised to be unbiased in ensuring adequate security for effective coverage of electoral and electioneering processes to attain a free, fair and credible conduct of the November 15, election.

Hakeem Busari, commissioner of Police, disclosed this at the command headquarters in Lokoja while addressing over 500 youths from across the state in a procession on ‘Vote Not Fight’: Election No Be War’, ‘Non-violent Election in Kogi State.’

The programme was organised by Participation Initiative for Behavioural Change in Development (PIBCID) in collaboration with 2Baba Foundation, INGRA, Activista with support from ActionAid, National Democratic Institute (NDI), Enough is Enough, USAID and UKAID.

Commending the youth for their non-violence stance, Busari said the police, alongside other security agencies would ensure security of lives and property before, during and after the election with adequate and effective deployment of personnel.

He said: “We have already trained our men for this upcoming election and we are going to have enough manpower because we are going to have adequate support from the Inspector General of Police (IGP) from the Force Headquarters towards this coming election.

“The polling booths and the wards are going to be properly policed and enough policemen will be on patrol. So, we don’t have anything to fear as far as the November 16, election is concerned”.

He however, cautioned the stakeholders to play the game according to the rules.

“And you the youth too should play the game according to the rule. If everybody conducts him/herself in a peaceful manner, the work of security will be very, very simple,” he said.

In a related development, the Resident Electoral Commissioner of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the state headquarters has also pledged that the Commission would not do anything short of ensuring free, credible and fair conduct during the election.

James Apam who was represented by Ahmed Bagudu-Biambo, head, Voter Education and Publicity, equally commended the youth for taking upon themselves to ensure credible election, saying that electoral violence would not be tolerated.

He also said that violence had far-reaching adverse effects on elections as the disabled, women and the aged were often disenfranchised aside its negative impact on voter turnout, the economy, peaceful coexistence, budget implementation, among others.

Presenting their ‘Vote, Not Fight’ youth position on the November 16th, 2019 off cycle governorship election in Kogi State,  Gift Omoniwa, executive director, PIBCID, said it was time to end the use of youths as thugs to perpetrate electoral violence in the state, stressing that youths constituted more than 60 percent of the state’s population (NPC, 2006) and also represented majority of registered voters in the state but had, regrettably remained marginalised and under-represented in decision-making.

“Over the years, the sponsors of electoral violence have used the youth to perpetrate violence and disrupt the electoral process,” she said.

According to her, “During election violence, voters are threatened, intimidated, restricted, wounded or killed before, during and after elections for simply exercising their constitutional rights.

“When election violence occurs, the youth, their mothers, sisters and persons living with disabilities are the first victims. Today, we have come to say no to electoral violence.

“We hereby state our firm resolve to shun violence in the November 16th 2019 off cycle governorship election in Kogi State. For us, non-violent and peaceful governorship election in November is non-negotiable.

“We remind all the political parties that the legitimacy of any government lies on its emergence from a peaceful, free, fair and credible election”.

 

VICTORIA NNAKAIKE, LOKOJA