Early mobilisation, deployment of personnel key to Edo, Ondo guber elections, INEC tells security agencies

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has said early mobilisation and deployment of security personnel for the Edo and Ondo governorship elections are critical to its success.

Yakubu said this at the first quarterly meeting of the Interagency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), in Abuja, yesterday.

The INEC chair paid tribute to the security agencies for the role they played during the 2020 governorship elections in the two states, which he attributed to early planning.

The INEC boss said: “It is important to start security preparations very early. In particular, the number of personnel and other assets to be deployed to strategic locations should be determined and mobilised early enough.

“It was this proactive approach that led to the successful conduct of the last Governorship election in Edo State on September 19, 2020 and in Ondo State on October 10, 2020.

“There were no security incidents, materials were delivered promptly.”