By Janet Samuel Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged security agencies to strengthen their collaboration on election security to prevent vote buying during party primaries and general elections.
INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu who made the call at the first quarterly consultative meeting with security agencies said while a lot has been achieved in efforts at stopping vote buying, much work still needed to be done.
Prof Yakubu said: “There is of course a lot of work to do, especially in combating vote buying. The Commission is happy with our collaboration with the law enforcement agencies, particularly the anti-graft agencies
Beyond the arrest of vote buyers on Election Day, our active partnership has so far resulted in the successful prosecution of some offenders in three States of the Federation. As you are aware, the problem also manifests itself during the party primaries for the election of candidates..
In the same way that voters are targeted at Polling Units on Election Day, so too is delegate-buying at the venues of congresses and conventions for the election of candidates.
We should continue to work together in partnership with other critical stakeholders to address the menace.”
On his part, the National Security Adviser and co-chairman of ICCES, Nuhu Ribadu, represented by the Director of Internal Security in his office, Hassan Abdullahi, who commended the Commission for the improvement recorded during the Edo and Ondo polls said the meeting is vital in refining security strategies ahead of the forthcoming bye-elections.
He said: “The polls witnessed seamless cooperation between the security agencies, which facilitated quick response to incidents that would have significantly disrupted the exercise.
“There was also the deployment of technology, especially drones and communication systems, as well as improved surveillance and coordination, which accounted for the timely response to incidents.
