By; RAYMOND TEDUNJAYE, Lagos
At least, a total number of 9,747 personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have been approved for deployment to Ekiti state ahead its forthcoming governorship election to provide watertight security for the exercise.
The gubernatorial election is slated to hold in across the state on Saturday, June 18, 2022.
The Commandant General of the Agency, Ahmed Abubakar Audi who gave the approval, charged all the personnel involved in the election duty to be professional in their conducts by allowing the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the Corps to guide their performances.
According to a release by Director Public Relations Department of the Agency DCC Olusola Odumosu, the Commandant General stressed that the service must remain apolitical and neutral to avoid any form of compromise during the election.
He maintained that necessary machinery has been put in place to provide effective security for INEC officials, sensitive and non sensitive materials, before, during and after the election, reiterating that all the 2,445 polling units, collation centres, flashpoints and other criminal hideouts are fully covered.
The CG further hinted that, personnel from Kogi, Edo, Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ondo, Zone J and the National Headquarters have been drafted to support the Ekiti State Command in beefing up security for the polls and protecting Critical National Assets in all the 16 Local Government Areas of the State.
The composition of the deployment for Ekiti election includes personnel from the Arms Squad, Chemical, Biological Radiological and Explosives Unit (CBRNE) Special Weapon and Tactics (SWAT), Kennel Unit, Counter-Terrorism Unit, Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Special Female Squad, Ops Special Squad and CG’s Special Monitoring team.
The Commandant General, however, assured the people of Ekiti State of a hitch free election process, as the Corps will be working in synergy with other security agencies involved in the conduct of the exercise to protect the electorate and arrest any criminal trying to destabilize the state.
He warned parents to put their wards in check at this critical period in the state’s history, so that they won’t become easy tools in the hands of do or die politicians seeking to hijack ballot boxes or cause mayhem to upturn the election.
Assistant Commandant General (ACG) Special Duties, Haruna Lawal Muhammed has been deployed to head and coordinate the election operations in the state, to be assisted by the Zonal Commander (Zone J) and other Senior Officers in the zone.
