From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja

The Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, has called for full security proof in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi to guarantee that the upcoming November elections in the States are credible.

The school also recommended that all electoral and security officials in the states that had been indicted for election fraud during the presidential polls be immediately removed and replaced before the elections to regain the trust of voters.

They stated these at a Policy Roundtable titled: “Towards the Elections in Imo, Kogi, Bayelsa, Kogi challenge, organised by the organisation on Friday in Abuja.

Speaking at the event, it’s Director, Dr Sam Amadi, warned that if the elections were not handled properly, they might exacerbate the security concerns in crisis-prone states like Imo.

According to the former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), security, can be used as a tool to rig elections if not tackled .

He also advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to utilize the off-cycle elections to redeem their image by correcting the wrongs they did in the general elections.

He said: “Some of these states Like Imo, are under serious security threats. We also know that during the 2023 March and August elections, there was also significant security.

“And we know that oftentimes, these security measures have been leveraged by incumbents to remain in power to rig elections. So, this workshop is to examine the nexus between insecurity, INEC’s demonstrated failings and the possibility of free and fair election in these three states, particularly, in Imo State where you might say out of the three, is now the most traumatized with insecurity and where the insecurity seems to have worsened after the 2020 election when the Supreme Court removed the governor then and declared the current governor winner.

“Insecurity worsened because of political fallouts. So, the issue for us today, is what do we need to do, to ensure that these off-season elections do not worsen the insecurity crises in the states?.

“We know that if elections are manipulated as have been, it could spike into new levels of insecurity particularly in Imo State. We have also got reports about alleged manipulation by the Resident Electoral Officer and other electoral officers.

“Three days ago, four parties were reportedly in protest at the INEC office in Imo State, demanding the removal of the State Resident Electoral Commissioner and some of the officers who they alleged had been involved in manipulation together with the State incumbent and the incumbent is running in the election.

“So the question then is, is it not time for extreme action to be taken, considering the level of insecurity in that state,, to ensure that the election will be free and fair? That is really our worry.

“And then coming to Bayelsa, slightly a different case. A lot more peaceful. Issues around Bayelsa are issues about ensuring that voting materials get to some of the riverine areas on time and ensuring that results are declared on time and fairly.

“Kogi has had a history of electoral violence. Although the incumbent is not running, but we have seen build ups of assassination attempts and so on and so forth

“So the question is, what are the necessary proactive measures that the Security adviser himself, the Resident Electoral Officer and Mr President should take to guarantee that first, the electoral officers that will be on ground in these states are going to be impartial and that those who have been indicted or those who have serious allegations like in Imos state are removed?

“Secondly, how do we ensure that the security is not used to create more crises, more insecurity, post election?”