Less than a week to Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly polls, indications have emerged that officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have been gripped with tension over the readiness of various security agencies to be deployed for the election.
A National Commissioner, who declined to be mentioned, expressed worries over the spate of violent protests following the redesign of the nation’s currency recently introduced by the Federal Government.
He told the media categorically that the commission has not got a commensurate response for peaceful conduct of the poll from security agencies, saying though the INEC is ready for this weekend’s presidential and National Assembly election, it will however wait for the response and assurances from the security agencies.
“I can confirm to you that the commission is ready to conduct the presidential and National Assembly election as scheduled. Sensitive and non-sensitive materials have been deployed to all the states. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines have been configured and deployed to the appropriate places.
We are ready to go; however, what I cannot confirm is whether we will get commensurate commitment from the security agencies especially as it concerns the security situation in the country. You can see the recent protests in some states, they need to deal with this situation,” he said.