From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has pleaded with security agents to protect Nigerians willing to participate in the next month’s Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.

Chairman of the commission, Mahmood Yakubu, made the appeal in his remarks at the second regular meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) for the year 2025 held in Abuja on Friday.

Yakubu, also urged the security agencies to use the security arrangements at the CVR to finetune their preparations for securing the forthcoming off-cycle Anambra State governorship and the bye-elections.

“Although the security situation in the State is calmer than what it was on the eve of the last governorship election four years ago, I urge you to use the CVR to finetune your preparations for securing the forthcoming elections.

“The second activity is the off-cycle governorship election in Anambra State scheduled for 8th November 2025. Related to the election is the resumption of CVR in the State from 8th to 17th July 2025. The commission released the timelines and locations of the exercise which will be held simultaneously in all the 326 Wards in the State.

“Although the security situation in the State is calmer than what it was on the eve of the last governorship election four years ago, I urge you to use the CVR to finetune your preparations for securing the forthcoming elections,” he said.

Responding, National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who spoke on behalf of the entire ICCES membership, thanked the commission for its unwavering commitment to ensuring free, fair, and secure elections since his administration took over two years ago.

“Our collaborative efforts have been the mainstay of maintaining peace and order during the elections. We are on the verge of holding yet another round of important elections, including the FCT Area Council election, the bye-elections to fill vacant seats in the two chambers of the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly, and the governorship elections in Anambra State.

“Our primary objective remains to safeguard the integrity of the upcoming elections. Therefore, we must ensure that eligible voters exercise their right to vote without fear or intimidation.

“In this regard, we will strengthen collaboration between security and law enforcement agencies to quickly address potential threats and challenges during the elections.

“Accordingly, the security component of ICCES will, among other things, intensify intelligence efforts to monitor and pre-empt any threats to these elections and provide real-time intelligence to enable the implementation of proactive measures,” the NSC noted.