12 days to Election: You’re under watch — Buhari to Police, Security Chiefs
…Unveils 127 operational vehicles, arms, ammunitions
…As INEC declares polling units where election will not hold
…Says 240 polling units in 28 States, FCT without voters to be affected
…Meets party leaders, decries violent attacks
…As IPAC warns against postponement of polls
Olaseinde Gbenga, Joel Oladele, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari, has on Monday, charged the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and military chiefs in the Country to be meticulous in the discharge of their duties during the coming election, reminding them that they are under the watch of Nigerians and the global community.
The President consequently charged them to live up to expectations to provide adequate security in ensuring peaceful conduct of the 2023 general election.
Buhari, who spoke at the Force Headquarters, Louis Edet House, Abuja, while unveiling critical operational assets procured by the NPF, commended the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, for advancing the police reform agenda of his administration and for several other initiatives he had brought to the Force.
Buhari said, “You should, however, be reminded of my high expectations of your leadership, particularly, in relation to the provision of requisite security that will engender not just stable security space ahead of the general election, but guarantee the credibility of the exercise.
“In this task, I call on the IGP and indeed, all law enforcement agencies that will be complementing the Police in the election security process to note that the eyes of the nation and the global community will be on you all.”
The President reiterated the centrality of an efficient and responsive police force in strengthening democracy and the essence of the police reform and the re-equipping agenda which his administration has vigorously pursued.
He added, “We are running a democratic system which is guided by the rule of law, and the police worldwide is recognised as the most symbolic agency within the democratic governance and rule of law process.
“Therefore, any nation that is desirous of deepening her democratic credentials and advancing the course of rule of law must prioritise the efficiency of her police institution.”
…Buhari unveils 127 operational vehicles, arms, ammunitions in preparation
Meanwhile, President Buhari at the Louis Edet House, Force Headquarters, Abuja, on Monday unveiled a wide range assortment of operational assets acquired to strategically improve on the operational capabilities of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), particularly in crowd control and anti-riot operations.
The event which is being held on Monday, had the presence of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, and the acting Chairperson of the Police Service Commission, Justice Clara Ogunbiyi.
Others include the Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Dingyadi, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Awwal Gambo, and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Amao.
The Inspector General of police, Usman Baba, had invited the President to unveil the equipment which include a total of 127 operational vehicles such as Toyota Hilux Pick Up vans, Zahab Classic Pick Up vans, Mikano Rich-6 Pick Up vans, anti-riot water cannons, Armored Personnel Carriers, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado Jeeps, Toyota Coaster Buses, Toyota Hiace Ambulances, Mikano Trucks, and Crowd Control Barriers Vehicles.
Similarly, a large catchment of arms, ammunition, riot control agents such as tear gas, tasers, stun guns, pepper sprays, bulletproof vests, helmets, and other personal protective equipment procured by the police will also be unveiled by the president.
…12 days to go: INEC declares polling units where election will not hold
Twelve days to the General Elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared polling units where elections will not hold.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu at a meeting with leaders of political parties on Monday, disclosed that 240 polling units will be affected.
According to him, these polling units were without registered voters.
The meeting is to bring the political parties up to speed with all the preparations for the elections and to remind the parties about their obligations.
Eighteen political parties are participating in the elections and some of their chairmen and other members of their National Working Committee (NWC) were in attendance.
Also, the INEC Chairman at meeting which took place at the INEC Conference Room in Abuja, exactly 12 days before the presidential and National Assembly elections, urged parties to ensure that only accredited party agents are allowed into the polling areas, and only those with INEC Identity Cards would be allowed.
He also appealed to them to call their candidates and supporters to order owing to violent attacks that have been recorded in some of the campaigns.
…INEC decries violent attacks, as IPAC warns against postponement of polls.
Meanwhile, ahead of the 2023 general elections, INEC has decried the rate of violent attacks on supporters of political parties at the ongoing electioneering campaigns.
Mahmood while calling on law enforcement agents to arrest, investigate and prosecute anyone involved in campaign violence, urged political parties to tame their supporters so as to avoid heating up the polity unnecessarily.
“Turning to the ongoing electioneering campaigns, the Commission is concerned about violent attacks on supporters of political parties across the board, resulting in the loss of life in some cases. Let me once again appeal to Chairman and leaders of political parties to continue to call your candidates and supporters to order.
“I also call on the security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies to arrest, investigate and prosecute anyone involved in violent conduct, including incendiary statements capable of inciting a breach of the peace,” he said.
The INEC boss further stated that the number of polling units has increased from 119,973 to 176,846.
However, there will be no elections in 240 polling units because they are without registered voters and these he said spread across 28 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“Let me therefore start with the issue of polling units. You may recall that in 2021, with your support and that of other critical stakeholders, the Commission successfully expanded voter access to polling units 25 years after the last delimitation exercise in 1996. Consequently, the number of polling units increased from 119,973 to the current figure of 176,846.
“At previous meetings, we also briefed you on our efforts to redistribute voters to the polling units in order to avoid the congestion that made voting cumbersome in many of them nationwide.
“This requires the redistribution of voters to new polling units in proximate locations. Where they are separated by distance, this must be done after consultation with the voters. This has been done by our State offices nationwide.
“However, there are 240 polling units without registered voters spread across 28 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). They range from one polling unit to 12 polling units in each State and the FCT, except Taraba and Imo States with 34 and 38 polling units respectively.
“No new registrants chose the polling units and no voters indicated interest to transfer to them during the last Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), mainly for security reasons. This means that no elections will hold in these polling units.”
Professor Mahmood added that as part of its commitments to transparency, the Commission is making available to Nigerians a comprehensive list of these polling units by name, code number and their locations by State, Local Government and Registration Area.
With this development, INEC said the number of polling units where elections will hold nationwide on 25th February 2023 and 11th March 2023 is now 176,606 and also used the occasion to call on electorates to confirm the locations of their polling units through a dedicated portal on the Commission’s website.
“Above all, Nigerians deserve the right to know the locations of these polling units. Accordingly, the soft copy of the list has been uploaded to our website and social media platforms for public information and guidance.
“Closely related to the distribution of voters is the identification of polling units. From the feedback we received from our officials and accredited observers following the recent nationwide mock accreditation using the BVAS, it is clear that some voters could not easily identify their polling units.
“This should not happen on election day. Consequently, the Commission is advising voters to confirm the locations of their polling units through a dedicated portal on our website.
“In addition, all voters who have been assigned to new polling units will receive text messages from the Commission indicating their polling units. We have also compiled the register of such voters and our State offices will give it wide publicity, especially for those who may not have provided their telephone numbers during voter registration or those whose numbers may have changed.
“Voters can locate and confirm their polling units before election day by sending a regular text or WhatsApp message to a dedicated telephone number. Details of the simple procedure will be uploaded to our social media platforms shortly.
“As you are already aware, we have less than two weeks to the 2023 General Election. The Commission is finalising the issuance of 1,642,386 identification tags for the Polling and Collation Agents nominated by the 18 political parties made up of 1,574,301 Polling Agents and 68,085 Collation Agents.
“I urge the Chairmen and leaders of political parties to ensure that only agents accredited by the Commission and wearing the correct identification tags appear at polling units and collation centres during elections.
“A situation where two or more agents claim to represent a political party, resulting in commotion at polling units or collation centres, is unacceptable. Only Identification tags issued by the Commission will be recognised on election day and violators are liable to arrest and prosecution for impersonation,” Mahmood said
…IPAC warns INEC against postponement of polls.
Meanwhile, the Chairman, Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), an umbrella body of all registered political parties in Nigeria, Engr. Yabagi Yusuf Sani at the same event has warned INEC against the possible postponement of the polls.
While reaffirming his confidence in the leadership of INEC, Yabagi commended the Commission for its timely efforts in confronting the challenges occasioned by Naira redesign and fuel scarcity.
“Mr. Chairman, under no circumstances should this election be postponed. Having noted this, I wish to congratulate all the Parties for patting up the healthy campaigns while thanking INEC with great expectations to deliver a credible election.
“Mr. Chairman Sir, I am confident that, as it has always been in the past, IPAC and INEC will be coming from this meeting more prepared to face the onerous historical challenge of conducting credible, transparent, and acceptable elections in 2023.
“Going further I wish to firstly reiterate the continual commitment of IPAC to the long standing cooperation and mutually beneficial relationship between us and INEC and want to use this occasion to also reaffirm the confidence of IPAC in the leadership of INEC for its consistent demonstration of diligence, uncommon zeal and patriotism in the pursuit of the agencies statutory mandate.
“On the basis of our evaluation that INEC has been well on track, the leadership of IPAC additionally wishes to use this occasion to commend, the efforts of INEC in confronting the extraordinary environmental challenges occasioned by Naira redesign and fuel scarcity through Mr. Chairman’s visit to the relevant agencies
“Usually, Siamese twins need to be in constant agreement to enable them to live together harmoniously. Also it is said that a case that is discussed does not usually cause trouble. It is on this philosophical note that I want to thank INEC and her Commissioners for constantly calling us to rub minds together because of Nigerian political project,” Yabagi said.
The IPAC chairman added that the reports from the just concluded mock accreditation exercise were encouraging.
He further charged INEC not to relent as “we know, a mock examination cannot be taken to be the real examination whose coverage is wider and complex. So far, the BVAS that were used were reported to have performed perfectly.
“We are encouraged by this and also wish to appreciate INEC while expecting them to keep the flag of perfection flying.
“Similarly, the Electoral Institute conducted a train-the-trainer workshop for polling agents/collation officers recently. The move is commendable but the Parties are trying to meet the challenges of lean resources to cascade the training down to other critical levels.
“The 2023 general elections seemingly will be a watershed in the history of elections in Nigeria. Today, the tide has changed, because an unknown Party could pull a surprise to the greatest chagrin of all.
“From this point of view, it is necessary to advise INEC to keep its date with history which must not bewasted.
“INEC should create a golden niche for herself especially the Chairman who has become the child of history, Nigerians are watching, the international community is watching and the Parties are palpitating.”
He therefore called on Nigerians of good conscience to take credible results of the election the way it is.
“At worst, parties should resort to the law court for adjudication. Today it is an abhorrence and crudity if not savagery to see States Governors denying campaign venues to political parties other than their own. This is crude, primitive and uncivilised.
“Finally, I would want to admonish party leaders that having observed that the elections are conducted free, fair and credible, the result should be accepted for the love of our country,” Yabagi concluded.
