…Police neutral in the exercise says IGP
The Inspector general of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris Thursday confirmed that no fewer than 28,000 police men have been deployed from other states of the Federation to compliment men of the Rivers state Police command in the tomorrow’s outstanding Legislative seats election rerun in the state.
Idris also said 18 armoured tank vehicles, 350 hilux vehicles, 20 dogs, 28 gunboats several state commissioners of police, DIGs among others are already in the state to ensure peaceful, free, fair and credible elections.
The IGP gave this statistics Thursday in Port Harcourt, while briefing officers and men of the police on the exercise.
The Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of operations, Habila Joushark had stated this in a stake holders meeting organized by INEC in Port Harcourt, Wednesday.
A total of 37 rerun elections into the vacant seats of the state National and state Legislature would be conducted in seven of the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAS of the state Saturday).
Idris said commissioners of police have also been deployed from states to Mann the three senatorial districts of the state where the elections would hold.
The LGAs are Andoni, Akuku-toru, Bonny, Etche, Ikwerre, Khana and Gokana, it is not clear yet if election would be held in Tai. INEC said election in Tai LGA has was concluded in the March 19 rerun, and result already announced. But the ruling PDP in the state is insisting that elections were yet to be conducted in Tai, maintaining that the March 19, attempt was aborted by wide spread violence.
IGP assured that all necessary and needed arrangements have been made for a peaceful and credible election in the state and appealed to politicians and their supporters to support the efforts of the police and other sister agencies to achieve the desired, free, fair and credible poll.
He pledged the police and other security agencies neutrality in the exercise and said total restriction of vehicles and human beings both in land and water would begin 12 midnight across the state.
He warned policemen attached to politicians not to accompany their principals irrespective of who to the polling units, stressing that their presence to the polling units would scare voters.
Earlier the INEC chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu in a stake holders meeting in Port Harcourt had said that card reader would be used for the accreditation f voters in the election.
Represented by the Federal Commissioner, south South, Muhammad Lecky, Yakubu assured that the INEC has sufficient Card Readers for the elections, and said that in case of any failure, the incident forms would be filled out to ensure no eligible voter was disenfranchised.
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