INEC, security chiefs fine-tune plan for elections

Representatives of the nation’s
security agencies on Monday met
with the Independent National
Electoral Commission Chairman,
Attahiru Jega, over preparations for
the rescheduled general elections.
The PUNCH gathered that the
meeting specifically assessed the
security situations in the North-East
in view of recent successes
recorded by the military against
the insurgents.
It was learnt that the meeting,
which came under the aegis of the
Inter-Agency Consultative
Committee on Election Security,
emphasised the need for a strong
military presence, particularly in
the North-East, during the
elections.
The military had recently said that
it had librated many communities,
in the North-East, including Baga
and Mubi, from Boko Haram.
The PUNCH gathered from a senior
security official at the meeting that
“security agencies argued in favour
of deployment of the military for
the elections.”
The official added, “They said the
recent threat by Boko Haram
leader, Abubakar Shekau, should
not be taken lightly.
“Besides, there have been suicide
bombings in Yobe and only the
presence of soldiers can allay fears
of voters. Even residents of
Maiduguri, Borno State, have been
applauding the latest
development. How do you tell
soldiers to leave during elections.”
The legality of deploying soldiers
for the elections has pitted the All
Progressives Congress against the
ruling Peoples Democratic Party.
Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele
Fayose, had on Thursday said
President Goodluck Jonathan would
deploy soldiers during the
elections, but the APC insisted that
two courts had barred the military
from being part of the exercise.
Investigations by The PUNCH
showed that the meeting which
held at the INEC office looked into
ways the government could assist
displaced persons to return to their
towns so that they could be a part
of the elections.
When contacted, the Chief Press
Secretary to the INEC Chairman,
Kayode Idowu, declined to give
details of the meeting which he
described as operational.
He said, “The agenda was routine
technical evaluation and planning
for elections.
“The meeting of the Inter-agency
Consultative Committee on Election
Security is a routine operational
platform that deliberates on
technical (not policy) aspects of
security provisioning for elections.
It was not personally attended by
the National Security Adviser
(Sambo Dasuki), though his office
co-chairs the committee with the
INEC Chairman.”
The Defence Headquarters, Army,
Air Force, Department of State
Services as well as the Nigeria
Security and Civil Defence Corps are
represented in the committee.
They also sent representatives to
the meeting.
INEC had on February 7, shifted the
general elections from February 14
and 28 to March 28 and April 11.
Its chairman said the
postponement followed reports
by Dasuki and the service chiefs
that their agencies would not be
able to guarantee security of INEC
personnel in some parts of the
country.
Meanwhile, immediate-past
National Youth Service Corps
members will still be engaged for
election duties.
Idowu said despite not being under
the NYSC any longer, INEC
remained disposed to engaging
them owing to the election
training they underwent.
He said the NYSC had earlier “kept
these people in camps because of
the elections. But now that there is
a shift, there is no basis for you to
keep on holding them in camps.
“Yes, they kept them in camp for
INEC because of the elections and
when elections are rescheduled,
you can’t hold them in camps for six
week.
“The corps members themselves,
as many as have been trained and
are available to take up the job for
which they have been trained, they
would still be there. Those that
were trained and have passed out,
as many as they are there, they
would still be engaged. They have
been trained for the job.”
Asked of the implication of
engaging the discharged corps
members since they are no longer
under the scheme, he said, “They
are the same people who were
recently in the NYSC. The only
difference is that because of the
time of the rescheduling, they are
no longer in the camps of the
NYSC.”