By Mujidat Oyewole
The Kwara Command of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) says it has deployed 3,000 personnel across the state’s 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs) for Saturday’s local government elections.
The State Commandant, Mr Umar Mohammed, in a statement on Thursday in Ilorin said the personnel were drawn from the State Headquarters, Area Commands, and Divisional offices across the state.
He said the deployed officers would man various polling units and synchronise their efforts with those of other sister security agencies to ensure a peaceful conduct of the elections.
“Our primary responsibility is to create an environment where the local government elections can be conducted peacefully, free from violence, intimidation, ballot-snatching, and any other disruptive action.
“We will not tolerate any form of political thuggery, violence, hooliganism or any action aimed at disrupting the electoral process,” Mohammed added.
The NSCDC State Commandant in Kwara said the personnel had been thoroughly briefed and were ready for the assignment.
He further said the Corps’ special forces, such as Operation Harmony, Counter-Terrorism Unit, and the Female Squad, would be patrolling the state for further security.
“Also, officers from the Anti-Vandal Unit and Critical National Assets and Infrastructure Department were deployed to monitor and protect government assets, to prevent vandals during and after the elections.”
The Commandant appealed to political parties and citizens to cooperate with security agencies and avoid any action that could undermine the peaceful conduct of the election.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the local government elections would hold on Saturday with only five political parties participating.
These are the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Accord Party.(NAN)
