What FG must do to avert security breakdown during elections, by Accord’s Imumolen

Professor Christopher Imumolen, the presidential candidate of the Accord party, has suggested ways he thinks the Federal Government can effectively manage possible security challenges that might pop up in the forthcoming general elections.

Security problems have often tended to mar the smooth conduct of elections in the past in Africa’s most populous country with cases of thuggery, ballot box snatching, and assassinations erupting in several flashpoints across the nation.

But while making his submissions on what he thinks is the best way to tackle the menace during February’s much anticipated presidential election, Imumolen said massive recruitment of ad-hoc security personnel to cover for the shortfall in the available number of police personnel and other operatives was the key to ensuring sufficient room is not left for evil-minded people to disrupt the elections.

“From available statistics which peg the number of security men at 350,000 all over the country, it is not possible to have adequate security cover for the 176,000 polling units on election day,” Imumolen said.

“And this shortage is what evil-minded persons, intent on disrupting the elections, would be looking forward to exploit and cause mayhem like they have always done in years past.

“Unmanned polling booths are a sure recipe for danger. Polling officials are not safe. Voters are not safe. Infact, just about anything can happen.

“This is why I would want to suggest that adhoc security personnel should be recruited and trained right away to help cover for the deficit we currently have.

“We should, as a matter of urgency, ask Nigerians who are patriotic and interested in seeing to the success of the upcoming elections to come forward and volunteer their services in order to ensure a hitch-free polls,” he added.

Imumolen, who at 39 is the youngest presidential candidate in the 2023 election, also hailed INEC’s decision to move from the old way of conducting elections with the analogue computer technology and embracing the simpler method of digital technology as it would enhance the whole process of voting, collation, and announcement of results.

“INEC’s decision to embrace digital technology in place of the old analogue system in this election is a good development because it will be more efficient,” he said.