Ekiti Guber: Oshiomhole Justifies Heavy Presence of Security Operatives

Posted by African Examiner Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria, News From The State, Politics Monday, July 9th, 2018

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has justified heavy deployment of security operatives for the coming Saturday Ekiti Governorship election, saying the action is necessary so as to forestall breakdown of law and order.

Oshiomhole made the disclosure Monday in Abuja while reacting to the deployment of 30,000 policemen to the South West state for the decisive poll and after a closed-door meeting with the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Paul Arkwright, who called on him.

The immediate past Edo State Governor added that it was not the number of officers deployed that mattered, rather, their effectiveness in ensuring safety of voters and ballot boxes.

He reiterated that heavy presence of military and the police was required at elections, especially in Nigerian, “because the rigging machine is serviced by hardened criminals who are often hired by politicians.

Oshiomhole alleged such criminals usually carry AK-47 Rifle on an election day and the police could be overwhelmed.

“We shouldn’t worry about how many officers are deployed. I think we should all pray that however people are deployed, that in the end we are not counting dead bodies.

“My experience in Edo as Governor is that you will hear stories of how many officers are deployed, but in the end, you will find no policemen. I have seen that in Edo.

“The important thing is that regardless of what the police chooses to do, regardless of the number they choose to deploy, let us ensure that those who are going to vote are safe and that the votes cast are secured,“ the APC Chairman restated

Comrade Oshiomhole appreciated the British Government for its support in promoting democracy in Nigeria and assured the envoy that the Federal Government FG would do everything to ensure a free and fair electoral process in Ekiti.

He said that the electoral process was more important than its outcome to him and the party.

“We are looking at the Nigerian project in terms of sustaining democracy, not the survival of a particular political aspirant, whether it is on my party platform or in the platform of the opposition,“ he said.