The police, INEC, and other security services in the states hosting today’s off-season governorship elections have been encouraged to maintain their impartiality and resist being coerced by political parties.
In a statement released on Friday by Chief Emeka Diwe, the National President of the Association of Igbo Town Unions, the group warned the security agencies tasked with protecting those states not to allow themselves to be used as a means of manipulating the outcome of the governorship elections in Imo, Kogi, and Bayelsa on November 11, 2023.
It pleaded with the Independent National Electoral Commission to hold free, fair, and credible elections in the three states and to use the three governorship polls to repair its reputation with Nigerians and the world community.
The group emphasized that the actions of security personnel during elections had left unpleasant memories in the minds of Nigerians and the international community, and it asked the security agents to operate within the parameters of their constitutional obligation to safeguard lives and property.
It criticized the roles that security services and INEC played in the most recent presidential election as well as past elections in Imo State and other regions of the federation when voters were intimidated and the electoral body’s stated results did not accurately represent the will of the masses.
The committee observed that despite the advent of technical improvements in election administration, the majority of Nigerians today think INEC has an interested party in every election due to its inability to fulfil its promises of conducting free, fair, and credible elections in the nation.
As a result, it pleaded with INEC to take advantage of the three governorship elections to uphold its impartiality and demonstrate to the people of Nigeria and the rest of the world that it was able to conduct free, fair, credible, and acceptable elections.
“INEC faces a significant challenge in trying to restore its reputation and rid itself of the unfavourable perception that Nigerians and the rest of the world hold of it. The group said, “This electoral institution has an obligation to uphold its impartiality and carry out its mandate with the fear of God, not fear or favour.