INEC defends use of Army in elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has defended the involvement of Nigerian Army in elections, saying voters will feel secured with the presence of army officers.
Besides, the commission has also admitted the non-availability of the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) belonging to some eligible voters in the country.
The Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr Segun Agbaje while speaking at a town hall meeting in Akure, the Ondo state capital agreed that the commission was yet to make available all the PVCs of voters in the country.

 

Agbaje while answering questions from participants at the meeting said “while some PVCs are yet to be released by the INEC headquarters, others are yet to be collected by their owners in different parts of the country.”

He also noted that “a good number of people come out to vote when military personnel are used on election days because people feel a sense of security if they are sure of their security in any election.”
He added that “the military personnel do not go to polling booths, but are only stationed in different locations during elections to enforce the no-movement order of the government during elections.”
The INEC boss recalled that the deployment of Soldiers to Osun and Ekiti states during the last Governorship elections in the states contributed to the success of the elections in the states.

 

He noted that the collaborative efforts of the Civil Society organizations had assisted the Commission.
He solicited for the support of the organizations in the forthcoming elections.

 

Agbaje also disclosed that over one million PVCs had been distributed to voters in the state representing 72 percent, while over 420,000 representing 28 percent were yet to be collected.
Daily Post