Strategies on how to ensure peaceful rerun elections in Rivers state on Saturday, were the focus of a stakeholders’ forum, organized by the Independent national electoral commission in Port Harcourt, with security at the front burner.
TVC News Uche Okoro reports the interactive session served as another platform for INEC to call for peaceful legislative elections come Saturday this week.
The commission has repeatedly blamed its inability to conclude the lingering rerun polls on violence.
But as another opportunity beckons, INEC is optimistic that plans already put in place to check another orgy of violence will yield positive results.
To leave nothing to chance,the police says it has deployed 3 helicopters and 18 gunboats for the elections.
This is in addition to the 28,000 officers earlier deployed to strengthen men of the Rivers State Police Command as well as other security agencies.
Safety of Ad-Hoc Staff especially members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, also attracted serious attention at the stakeholders forum.
For members of political parties and others present,security agencies must be non-partisan in the discharge of their duties so as to ensure free, fair and peaceful polls.
Deputy Inspector General of police, Joshak Habila says the leadership of the force has placed three commissioners of Police, including their counterpart in Rivers State in charge of the security apparatus across the 3 senatorial districts of the state.
Part of their job according to the DIG, would be overseeing mobile police units expected to be deployed to the 23 local government areas.
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