Ahead local government elections slated for November 11, in Akwa Ibom State, ActionAid, has stressed the need for security agencies to close ranks in order to reduce electoral violence.
The organisation which is committed to the fight against poverty and injustice said security organisations in the state needed to step up their roles during the election to provide a level playing ground for all political parties to participate.
A representative of the group, Mr. Ezenwa Nwagwu, said at a town hall meeting with personnel of the Department of State Service, DSS, Police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Tuesday that providing a congenial climate would make people come out to freely exercise their franchise.
Nwagwu said the meeting was organised by Women United for Economic Empowerment, WUEE, in collaboration with ActionAid Nigeria to extract responses from the electorate and security agencies on the challenges faced during elections in the state.
According to him the electorate in Akwa Ibom were interested in better policing of elections by security agencies.
“The forthcoming local government election is just some months away; there is need for greater collaboration among security agencies to reduce electoral violence and guaranteed free and fair elections.”
He maintained that only such synergy would achieve a positive result during the forthcoming local government elections in November this year.
The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Itam Division, CSP Francis Erhabor, who spoke at the occasion described Akwa Ibom as peaceful during elections compared to other states.
He assured that the police and other security agencies would continue to play their roles to win the trust of all sides by ensuring that, they do not take sides with any political party.
The officer said the NPF had always been taking actions by sanctioning victims of electoral violence based on intelligence information.
The meeting recommended the need for greater collaboration among all stakeholders and commitment to a common goal of credible elections in the state.
