The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it has received reports that one of the goals of many perpetrators of violence in the South-Eastern Nigeria is that the November 6 Anambara governorship election 2021 must not hold.
Similarly, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said the security threat posed by violent activities of separatist groups in the South-East region are bent on scuttling the election in the State in furtherance of their separatist agenda.
INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu and National Security Adviser, Mohammed Babagana-Monguno made these disclosures at emergency meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committees on Elections Security (ICCES) in Abuja on Tuesday.
Yakubu expressed worry that with the rising insecurity, specific electoral facilities and materials could once more become targets of attack, recounting how INEC State Office at Awka was attacked and all the non-sensitive materials assembled for the election at the time were destroyed in May.
“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.
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“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.
“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.
“It is in the light of these recent and seemingly escalating threats to the election that the Commission has convened this emergency meeting. We 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”, he said.
Yakubu assured the people of Anambra that INEC is determined to proceed with the election as scheduled and will be implementing two more activities; the presentation of voters register to political parties and publishing of the final list of candidates for the election in Awka on Thursday.
The National Security Adviser, represented by Sanusi Galadima said his Office is working assiduously with relevant security and intelligence agencies towards arresting the foregoing ugly trend and other associated security challenges in the South-East zone and beyond.
“ONSA wish to reiterate the Federal Government commitment for the protection of lives and property of all law abiding citizens before during and after the elections, while, finally calling on all peace loving Nigerians of the South-East extraction to join hands with constituted authority to promote peace and development across the region and beyond”, he assured.
