•Police, DSS urge postponement over Boko Haram threat as Fayose, PDP, others react

•INEC boss to meet with Police, DSS today

From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja, Wole Balogun, Ado-Ekiti,
Ndubuisi Orji, Iheanacho Nwosu, Abuja, Taiwo Amodu and Tony Osauzo, Benin

Citing unfavourable security report, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Police yesterday warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone next Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State.
But INEC  National Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the electoral umpire was ready to conduct the election, even as his aide, Mr. Dick Dazeng, said the agency was still consulting.
At a Press conference jointly held in Abuja yesterday, the security agencies said Boko Haram and other extremist elements were planning to attack soft targets including Edo.
This is even as students who were scheduled to write the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) text same day of the election, protested in Benin on Monday, asking the authorities to postpone the poll.
Addressing reporters at the DSS headquarters in Abuja, the security agencies said the shift would enable them deal decisively with the envisaged terrorist threats. Major stakeholders in the election including the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and politicians reacted to the security agencies’ alarm.
Represented by Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), DCP Don Awunah, Garba Abdullahi who stood in for Tony Opuyo, (DSS) warned: “The Nigeria Police and Department of State Services, wish to inform the general public that credible intelligence availed the agencies of plans by insurgent/extremist elements to attack vulnerable communities and soft targets with high population during the forthcoming Sallah celebrations between September 12 and 13, 2016. Edo is among the states being earmarked for these planned attacks by the extremist elements.
“The public would recall that similar threats were issued during the May Labour Day and Democracy Day celebrations as well as the Ed-el-fitr holidays in July, 2016. However, the security agencies were able to decisively disrupt and thwart the insurgents’ plan. In the same vein, while election is important, the security agencies cannot allow the peace of the country to be disrupted, and we will continue to remain vigilant and ensure consolidation of the successes gained in the current counter-insurgency fight.
“It is in regard of these that we are appealing to INEC which has the legal duty to regulate elections in the country  to consider the need for possible postponement of the date of the election in Edo State in order to enable security agencies deal decisively with the envisaged terrorist threats.
The INEC boss will meet with Police and DSS today based on the security threat. Yakubu’s Chief Press Secretary, Rotimi Oyekanmi, confirmed the likelihood of the meeting taking place.
Also, INEC Secrtary, Mr. Nick Dazang said yesteray the electoral body was still consulting.
Meanwhile, Prof.  Yakubu said yesterday that INEC has taken all the necessary steps for conducting the election and that what was left, is for the people to cast their votes to choose their governor.
He stated this at a meeting with election stakeholders in Benin City, saying that the INEC was ready to deal decisively with anybody who tries to circumvent the electoral process in the forthcoming election.
He appealed to politicians to eschew violence and ballot boxes snatching, noting that the atmosphere has been very peaceful since the start of the campaigns and that he has confidence that the state election will be a shinning example for other states to emulate.
Earlier in his welcome address, the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Sam Olumekun, said a total of 1,925,105 people would vote.
He said the continuous voters’ registration exercise that took place from June 22 -26, 2015 across the 192 registration wards in the state saw the total of 135,877 registered, stressing that, that effectively brought the total number of registered voters in the state to 1,925,105.
Meanwhile, the commission has said that it would not postpone the election for the WAEC. Yakubu disclosed this during the stakeholders’ meeting.
A total of 1,742 candidates are expected to write Mathematics 1 and 2 papers on September 10, a development which sparked a protest by some of the affected candidates and parents on Monday.
There had also been calls for the postponement of the poll to a later date to allow the students exercise their right to vote.
But speaking through Olumekun, the National Chairman said the electoral umpire had given adequate notification on the date for the election, prior to the date fixed for the examinations.
“On the issue of the WAEC examinations, as my chairman would say, ‘INEC is the weeping boy’. Even when you see people that are doing things that are wrong, you would revert back to INEC.
Reacting, Ekiti Sate Governor Ayo Fayose, said: “It is obvious that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is challenged and afraid of losing the election. The party is using the Federal Government security agencies to cause a postponement of the election so as to be able to perfect its new rigging plans.”
The governor, who raised the alarm that “democracy is in danger” under the APC government, said; “obviously, within two years of APC government, Nigeria is in both economic and political recession and this should worry all true lovers of the country.”
Fayose, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said he was worried that “democracy in Nigeria has now graduated from inconclusive elections to postponement of elections in order to return APC candidates at all cost.”
Commenting on the security agencies demand, the PDP in a statement issued yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, expressed shock that the security agencies would be calling for a postponement of the election on “the excuse of insurgency alert” barely 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari attended a hitch-free rally of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC)  in the state.
The PDP said it is on record that INEC conducted a senatorial bye-election in Borno State, which is the hotbed of Boko Haram insurgency recently.
“We are taken aback on this advise coming a day after the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari was present at the mega rallly of its party, the APC in Benin City which was concluded without any hitch.
“It is on record that INEC recently conducted a ‘hitch-free’ senatorial bye-rlection in Borno State which is a high-point of insurgency in the country but the security agencies saw no reason to call-off the election. It is therefore lamentable to hear from these same security agencies that the election cannot be held in a state where in less than 24 hours, the President and all the APC leaders and members had an uninterrupted rally.
Meanwhile, Lagos PDP Chairman, Mr. Moshood Salvador, told Daily Sun that APC was afraid of imminent defeat in the election and decided to use its  security apparatus to seek postponement.
He said: “What have they seen that posed security challenge? They are afraid of failure, they know they have failed completely. This is a government that has made huge amount of money from Treasury Single Account, (TSA) and earnings from petroleum, yet, Nigerians are suffering.