Imo guber: INEC trains security agents, others on election risk management

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has trained security personnel and other key stakeholders on how to identify and mitigate acts capable of causing violence during the November 11th governorship election in Imo State.

The Commission also charged the stakeholders to resist attempts that may sabotage efforts to meet the expectations of the electorate and Imo citizens in general from the election.

The call was made at a one-day sensitization workshop organised by the Commission on Elections Risk Management for senior electoral officers, Civil Society Organization, the Media and security agencies in the state.

The workshop held at Greatwood Hotels in Owerri, the Imo State capital, was at the instance of the Imo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. Sylvia Agu.

Speaking, Prof. Agu stressed on the importance of the workshop, adding that “proper sensitization and education of critical stakeholders are essential to conducting credible elections.”

The Imo INEC REC said, “as part of effort towards conducting credible elections, the Commnission found it necessary to bring together stakeholders in the electoral process, towards developing security architecture framework that could be helpful in mitigating internal and external factors.

“As such, the INEC office here in Owerri decided to come up with this workshop to develop mitigation strategies as well as expose the participants to the INEC electoral risk framework.”

Prof. Agu further called on the participants to marshal out proactive measure for handling any form of violence or threat to the elections.

She added that, “security is a key component of the process and that the Commission is activating the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Electoral Security (ICCESS) to provide necessary security support before and during the exercise.”

The workshop had participants from the Nigeria Civil Defence and Security Defence (NSCDC), Nigeria Police, Nigerian Army, Directorate of Security Services (DSS) and the National Women Society Council of (NCWS), among others.

The participants were divided into three Senatorial Districts of the state, with the intent to review the peculiar risk factors and map the 27 LGAs for data generation and statistics.

Also issues deliberated upon were elections risk management, (ERM) tools, identification of risk factors, indicators and risk levels as well as the risk preventive measures in the respective senatorial district.

Speaking to newsmen shortly after the workshop, some of participants assured their readiness to partner with INEC to achieve the freest, fairest and the most credible election in the history of the state come November 11th.