…Police Deploy 22,000 Men
Candidates of political parties in next week’s governorship election in Ondo State have commended the diligence and commitment of the Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, towards the conduct of a credible governorship election in the State.
The commendation came during the stakeholder’s consultative meeting with the political parties and governorship candidates participating in the November 16 election in Akure, the State capital, on Thursday.
The governorship candidate of the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, Dr Abbas Mimiko, who led the commendation praised Mrs Babalola for her dedication to the electoral process with transparency.
According to him: “Mrs. Babalola has shown great diligence and commitment to her duties. We in the ZLP are not calling for her redeployment, as we have full confidence in her impartiality and the integrity of her work.”
“I am confident that INEC will deliver as expected. We believe they are fully prepared to ensure a transparent, credible election that will truly reflect the will of the people. I urge all stakeholders to have faith in INEC’s commitment to upholding democratic principles.”
Some of the other candidates echoed Mimiko’s statement, urging the electoral body to sustain ongoing efforts towards the conduct of a free and fair election in the State.
Similarly, the state chapter of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has passed a vote on confidence on Babalola ahead of the November 16 governorship election. They said there was no need for the redeployment a few days before the election.
The Chairman of the IPAC, Mr Olaooluwa Adesanya, who spoke at the stakeholders’ meeting, said the efforts put in place by INEC, if sustained, would guarantee a free, fair, and credible election on the November 16 governorship election.
Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who is also the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stressed the importance of maintaining peace during the electoral process.
His words “Elections will come and go, but Ondo State will remain. We must preserve the peace we currently enjoy. I appeal to my fellow candidates to see beyond the immediate contest and focus on the long-term peace and prosperity of our state.
“I sincerely appreciate the commitment shown by all those working to uphold peace in Ondo. Your responsible actions have been vital to ensuring a stable and peaceful environment for all.”
This development came as the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu said To deliver adequate election security, the Nigeria Police, apart from additional manpower from sister agencies, would deploy a total of 22,239 officers for the exercise.
According to him, the success of the forthcoming governorship election depends on peace, order, and security. He said any breach of the peace or security can scuttle the success expected in the exercise.
Yakubu urged the stakeholders to discharge their various duties with security-conscious approaches. He said they should bear in mind that performing their roles in a fair and orderly manner would certainly reduce the security threats to the barest minimum, with a far-reaching effect on the credibility of the election.
His words “The Nigeria Police and other supporting security agencies responsible for providing security in the forthcoming election have a responsibility to solidly synergize and work as a formidable team to identify and nip in the bud, all security threats, provide water-tight security at the polling stations as well as all the public spaces within the state.
“Security of the voters, the electoral officials, the electoral materials, and the general public will have to be effectively provided before, during, and after the election. This can be efficiently achieved by concerted covert and overt operations by the synergized security agencies assigned for the election duties.”
