Bayelsa/Kogi: INEC will review security arrangement for future elections - Yakubu
- INEC has promised that it would review security arrangement for future elections in Nigeria
- Prominent Nigerians had condemned INEC for the level of insecurity during the Bayelsa and Kogi elections
- Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman, however, said the commission would review the security arrangement for the future elections
Barely one month after the conduct of Bayelsa and Kogi governorship elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has sought a review of security arrangements for future elections in the country.
The Nation reports that the commission said there would be comprehensive information on security operatives and clear details of their postings and names to ensure that they are held accountable for their actions.
Legit.ng gathered that the chairman of the INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this at the meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) in Abuja.
He said the meeting would review the efficacy of security deployment in relations to field experience on election day, in order to determine what we got right and what we did not.
"Ahead of the Bayelsa and Kogi governorship elections, the commission’s appraisal of the security situation using our Election Violence Mitigation and Advocacy Tool (EVMAT) identified some flashpoints.
Source: UGC
"At the last meeting of ICCES, we shared our assessment with the security agencies. We also had several stakeholders’ meetings in Yenagoa and Lokoja involving the security agencies. At these meetings, stakeholders across the board expressed concern about the possibility of violence.
“The security agencies made their own assessment based on which they arrived at the numbers of personnel to be deployed as well as other operational details in order to secure the process. At this meeting, we shall review the efficacy of security deployment in relation to field experience on election day, in order to determine what we got right and what we did not," he said.
The INEC boss noted that the commission believes that the purpose of security deployment during elections is to protect the voters, election officials and materials, accredited observers, the media and to safeguard the integrity of the processes generally, including the polling units and collation centres.
He said: “Therefore, the deployment of security personnel in all future elections should be tied to specific locations and activities. All security personnel deployed to polling units and collation centres should be identified by name as is the case with INEC officials. This will not only enhance transparency, but the Commission and security agencies will know who to contact in specific locations during elections when the need arises."
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the commission's director, voter education and publicity, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, explained why Nigerian politicians were desperate to get to power at all cost.
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Bayelsa election: Party agents argue fiercely over results anomaly | - on Legit TV
Source: Legit.ng
