15,000 Police For Bayelsa Polls ‘Morrow …As Stakeholders Demand Change Of INEC Staff

Ahead of tomorrow’s governorship polls in Bayelsa State, the state Police Command, says it would deploy 15,000 personnel for the election to ensure security.

The new Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Chris Olakpe, said this in Yenagoa yesterday while briefing newsmen about the command’s plan on security for the election in the state.

Olakpe said that out of the 15,000 personnel, police alone would deploy 10,000 officers and men while 5,000 others were expected from sister agencies such as the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

He sad that anti-bomb squads from neighbouring states such as Edo, Delta and Rivers states were expected to beef up security just as police patrol boats would be deployed to the riverine areas from today.

Olakpe assured Bayelsa people that the police had enough manpower in the state and appealed to residents to always report suspicious characters to the force and other security agents.

“I am sure that by Monday, we will be counting our blessings,” he said.

Olakpe who called for collaboration from the media, also emphasised on community policing, saying,  the police alone could not provide security.

Also speaking with our correspondent, the state Commandant of the NSCDC, Philip Ayuba, said the command had 1,500 men on ground who would be complemented by other neighbouring states commands.

Meanwhile, stakeholders in Bayelsa State have demanded that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should carry out total overhauling of its staff in Bayelsa office before the Saturday’s governorship election, if they wanted to be trusted in the conduct of the election.

This, according to the candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Famous Denimugha who raised the issue, some of the staff had over-stayed their usefulness and therefore could not be fair in conducting the election.

But the INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega disagreed, saying that none of the staff had stayed up to 10 years, “even at that, INEC has a system of not allowing any officer who had stayed up to two years to conduct elections in his place. They are usually posted out even on temporary basis’’.

Prof. Jega who was addressing a stakeholders meeting in preparation for tomorrow’s governorship election in the state, at the NUJ Press Centre said that there was no need to change a hardworking staff without cogent reasons, as the experience of such a staff could be an asset.

He said INEC as an umpire body was committed to conduct credible elections in the state, pointing out that precautionary measures had been taken to ensure free and fair elections, saying, it was left for contesting parties to assist the body by conducting themselves peacefully

The INEC chairman in answering a question, said the body had disappointed Nigerians in its promise to prosecute perpetrators of electoral fraud in the country but said it was not intentional as the body had no capacity to carry its intention to a logical conclusion.

Towards this end, he said, there was need to implement the Mohammed Uwais report in the areas that deal with election malpractices by establishing a special tribunal that would try those involved in election malpractices.

“Many people commit election crime with impunity, unless there is an agency to tackle this, if big men could be tried and jailed, that could serve as an example for others’’.

He, however, said that all genuine complaints about the conduct of the election would be investigated, stressing the need to strenghten the democratic process. He promised that everything possible would be done to make the exercise succeed.

President Goodluck Jonathan (left), waving to the crowd at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rally in Sokoto, yesterday. With him are Vice President Namadi Sambo (middle) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.