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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that with the recent killing, attacks and kidnap of its personnel in various parts of the country, it is deeply concerned about the safety of those involve in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
It further said that the safety of Nigerians who come out to register at the various registration centres, the Commission’s equipment and materials are also major concern to the Commission.
INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, expressed the concerns in his remarks at the second regular quarterly consultative meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners in Abuja on Friday.
He disclosed that the emergency high-level meeting with security agencies and consultations with relevant stakeholders are parts of the arrangements planned to checkmate the situation from escalating further.
“We are concerned about the safety of our personnel and Nigerians who come out to register at the various registration centres. We are also concerned about the security of our equipment and materials, including the printed Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) made available for collection by registered voters. Recent incidents involving our staff and facilities are worrisome.
“You may recall that after a series of consultations with stakeholders (political parties, civil society organisations, the media and security agencies) before the resumption of the exercise in June last year, we agreed on a roll-out and roll-back approach to the CVR exercise depending on the security situation in specific areas.
“Consequently, following the unfortunate incident in Imo State last week, the Commission suspended the CVR exercise in all the 54 additional centres in the State. The exercise is now restricted to our State and Local Government offices except Ihitte Uboma, Njaba and Osu where the exercise has been suspended for the time being.
“Similarly, based on the urgency of the situation in Anambra State, the CVR has been suspended in all the 42 additional centres and confined to our State and Local Government offices except Nnewi South and Ogbaru LGAs where the exercise has also been temporarily suspended. “Furthermore, in Kaduna State, the exercise has been suspended in Jema’a and Kaura as well as large areas of Birnin Gwari and Giwa on account of insecurity in the four LGAs. In addition, two of our staff were abducted by bandits but later released in Isa LGA of Sokoto State while on voter registration duty,” the Commission’s boss said.
Giving further updates, he said that: “the Commission will keep monitoring and reviewing the situation nationwide, always bearing in mind the imperative of protecting the safety and security of our staff and registrants.
“The Commission is confident that our security agencies have the capacity to deal with the security challenges ahead 2023 General Election. Fortunately, we have started the preparations for the election early. There is therefore ample time to deal with the current situation to enable the Commission and all stakeholders to deploy nationwide for the election.
“We will continue to work with the security agencies for a peaceful electioneering and conduct of elections. To this end, the Commission will hold high-level meetings with the security agencies and consultations with stakeholders immediately after the forthcoming national holidays,” he revealed.
