Anambra Polls: Buhari Directs Security Agencies To Ensure That Election Must Hold
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed security chiefs to ensure that the Anambra State governorship election is held on November 6, 2021.
The national security advisers (NSA), Lt Gen Babagana Monguno disclosed this to State House correspondents yesterday after the national security meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said council observed recent trends in which a lot of violent activities have been taking place and that it is desirous of seeing a hitch free election being conducted by next month.
He said “now the problem here is that in as much as the government wants to conduct peaceful elections, there are non-state actors who have been heating up the polity, who have made all kinds of attempts to stymie orderly elections for next month.
“The president has directed that under no circumstances will anything be allowed to stop the elections from taking place successfully, the people have a right to vote, they have a right to select their leader, and no group or individual will be allowed to stimulate anarchy and chaos leading to murderous activities. “The president has made it very clear that the armed forces, security agencies and law enforcement agencies must make sure that the elections take place.
“If it means overwhelming the entire environment with the presence of security agencies. There are so many implications for elections to be sabotaged by non-state actors. In the first place, we’re in a democracy.
“Second, it is important to note that if these non-state actors should succeed in destroying the potential for orderly elections, then it is natural that other parts of the country will also want to copy this situation.
At a media chat following a meeting with the President, the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Dingyadi noted that escalating security within Anambra was done purposely to wither the operations of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and to engender a calm atmosphere and embolden the people to vote.
The meeting was attended by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; and Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, among others.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, led the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Farouk Yahaya; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao to the meeting.
Also present are Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS), Yusuf Bichi; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai Abubakar and Deputy Inspector General of Police, Sanusi Lemu, representing the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, was absent at the meeting.
