INEC Reveals Why Polls Won't Hold In Two Northern Towns
Just three days to the commencement of the country’s general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed the two Northern towns that elections may not hold.
Nigerian Pilot reported that the Adamawa State INEC spokesperson, Mrs. Rifkatu Duku, on Monday said it would not deploy its personnel to the town of Minchika and Madagali Local Government Areas of the state to conduct the forthcoming elections because it has not gotten clearance from security agencies.
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The declaration of the electoral commission has orchestrated fears among the residents that elections may not hold in the state.
Duku, who spoke on the evacuation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to the recaptured towns said: “We are not going to risk the lives of our members of staff, because we are yet to get the situational report from the security operatives. So you can’t expect INEC to deploy staff for the elections in those areas; already INEC has created designated centres here in the state capital for IDPs elections. Preparations are on top gear for the elections.’’
Meanwhile, before INEC made its decision public, some groups alleging to be Michika’s elders had earlier noted that Madagali and Michika are ready and safe for the coming polls.
Madagali and Michika were recently recaptured by the Nigerian troops, and despite the fact that the terrorists have been flushed out of the towns, residents of the communities have refused to return to the homes to participate in the scheduled general elections.
According to INEC’s records, no fewer than 148, 375 voters fled in Madagali and Michika after they were attacked by Boko Haram. Many of the residents who fled the communities have insisted that they were unsure of returning home despite successes recorded by the troops.
An elderly man, Zira Yohanna, who is a resident of one of the recaptured communities but currently living at the NYSC IDP camp, said: “The military were on ground when Boko Haram came and took over our town. Though the same military has recaptured our land now, but we aren’t sure the insurgents won’t come back.”
Yohanna, who commended the Nigerian troops for reclaiming their town, disclosed that the security situation even after the recapture of their communities was cloudy.
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“The situation around our area in Garta is not clear to us. I don’t think anybody wish to return now. Some of the Boko Haram men may have fled to return again,” Yohanna said.
The Federal Government has assured that it would reclaim every community under the control of the Islamist militants to make sure fleeing residents return to their homes before the elections.
The incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan via his Facebook account praised Nigerian military, expressing hope that more Nigerians are now expected to participate in the forthcoming elections.
A member of the youth vigilante group, otherwise known as Civilian JTF, was arrested for allegedly planning a bomb attack by the Boko Haram terrorist group at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Maiduguri, Borno state.
Source: Legit.ng
