Yakurr 11 rerun:  Five policemen to man each  polling unit in Cross River

No fewer than five  policemen along with other security agents will man each polling unit in the Yakurr 11 State Constituency rerun election in central Cross River State scheduled for  Saturday.

Cross River State Commissioner of Police,  Henry Fadairo, told elite of the  area in Calabar during an interactive session with the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Gesila Khan, that arrangement for adequate security coverage for the materials, INEC personnel, and voters during the election and collation of results had been made by the police to ensure violence-free poll.

Fadiaro, who was represented by Salihu Sani, assistant commissioner operations, said the police has made adequate arrangement for security and called on those with police orderlies and security agents attached to them not to go to the polling booths with any security aide as only policemen and security agents deployed by the police would be allowed at each polling unit.

He said at the constituency collation centre, a team of one hundred mobile policemen would take care of security to ensure orderly and peaceful atmosphere at the venue.

Gesila Khan, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for  State, also warned the political elite, candidates and youths in the area to maintain the peace and ensure that no life is lost during the rerun election as every life is valuable.

“We don’t want to lose any life not even an ant, so tell your youths not to engage in any violence or acts that would endanger their lives because nobody would want to have his children brought back to them dead so protect the lives of other people’s children,” Khan said.

She said though she was not the one who conducted election in Cross River State in 2015 but reports she has got said three persons lost their lives in Yakurr 11 during the state Assembly election which was nullified by the Appeal Court which warrented the rerun.

“This  rerun and should be better than the first election and we are not expecting a best one by having another election for the same position before 2019 so everything must be done to have a peaceful election and INEC is ready to deliver a free and fair election,” she said.

Khan revealed that seventeen electoral officers and some Resident Electoral Officers from neighbouring states were expected to join her in conducting the election so there would be enough personnel to supervise and monitor the election while security would be adequate to ensure the security of voters, materials and electoral staff.

MIKE ABANG