By Mujidat Oyewole
Ilorin – Various security agencies in Kwara said on Thursday that a total of 2,136 officers had been deployed to ensure law and order in Saturday’s governorship and state house of assembly elections in the state.
The security agencies are the Kwara commands of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on Thursday, Commandant Bello Ale of NSCDC expressed appreciation to Kwara people for their cooperation and support during the Feb. 23 Presidential/National Assembly elections.
He expressed the readiness of the corps to do more in providing security before, during and after Saturday’s elections, saying: “2000 personnel of the corps have been deployed across the state for this purpose.”
Ale further urged the public to be law abiding, shun any act capable of disrupting the electoral process, and cooperate with security agencies for peaceful conduct of the elections.
He assured the public that the corps would promote the creation of environment that would be conducive for the conduct of peaceful governorship and state house of assembly elections.
The NDLEA Commander, Barr. Ona Ogilegwu, said that a total of 80 officers had been deployed to the 16 Local Government Areas of the state to ensure peaceful conduct of the March 9 elections.
“We are deploying the same number of officers as we did during the Presidential and National Assembly elections to cover all the local government areas of the state.
“A total number of 80 officers will resume their duty posts tomorrow, March 8, ahead of Saturday’s polls and will remain there until the results are declared,” he said.
Ogilegwu said that the heads of security offices in the state have held meetings with officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state and discussed how free and fair elections in the area could be conducted.
According to him, another meeting has been scheduled with the state’s Commissioner of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, who is also the state Chairman of the security committee for the 2019 elections.
Alhaji Umar Abu, Deputy Comptroller of Customs, Ilorin, said that three officers had been deployed to each of the 16 Local Government Areas of the state, with a supervisor in each of the three senatorial districts of the state.
Abu stated that strategic plans had been made by security operatives to ensure peaceful and hitch-free elections.
“I also participated in the meeting with the security men, REC committee, military men and all other officers concerned in order to ensure peaceful elections in the state,” he said. (NAN)