The Independent National Electoral Commission has expressed concerns over the security situation in Edo State, ahead of the September off-cycle governorship election.
Chairman Mahmood Yakubu highlighted the recent death of a security personnel in the state as a worrisome incident.
At a quarterly consultative meeting with civil society organizations in Abuja on Tuesday, Yakubu emphasized the need for peaceful elections and urged CSOs to intensify their advocacy.
He announced that INEC will meet with security agencies on Friday to discuss a security report on the election, according to TheSun.
Yakubu assured that the commission is concerned about the safety of all stakeholders, including candidates, officials, observers, journalists, and voters.
He reminded CSOs of their responsibilities as observers and warned that accreditation can be revoked for violating the code of conduct.
The meeting aimed to discuss election preparedness and security concerns ahead of the Edo and Ondo governorship elections. INEC’s proactive approach seeks to ensure a peaceful and credible electoral process.
“Campaign by political parties and candidates is in full swing in both Edo and Ondo states. We urge you to intensify your advocacy for peaceful elections, including engagement with stakeholders. The commission finds the recent event in Edo State resulting in the death of a security personnel worrisome. Happily, there has been no incident known to the commission since then.
“Nevertheless, the commission will meet with the security agencies as early as Friday this week under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security. I want to assure you security in Edo and Ondo will be a major issue for discussion at the meeting.
“We are as concerned about the safety of candidates, agents and supporters as we are about the security of our own officials, observers, journalists, service providers and, above all, the voters.
“At the same time, I wish to remind you of your obligation as observers to comply with the objectives of election observation and the code of conduct contained in the commission’s rules of engagement for accredited election observers,” he said.
Reminding the CSOs of their responsibilities for the election, Yakubu said: “At the same time, I wish to remind you of your obligation as observers to comply with the objectives of election observation and the code of conduct contained in the commission’s rules of engagement for accredited election observers.
“I wish to reiterate that the commission reserves the right to revoke the accreditation of any individual observer or observer group that violates code of conduct for election observation,” he said.
