The Independent National Electoral Commission has endorsed the presence of the military in the forthcoming elections.
According to INEC, it will give the electorate confidence to come out and vote.The All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders have mounted a strong campaign against the deployment of military during elections, alleging a ploy by the PDP to use them to
The commission’s position was revealed by the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Ondo State, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje.
Agbaje said, while speaking in Akure the Ondo State capital, at a town hall meeting with stakeholders on non-violent electoral participation, that higher number of people come out to vote when military personnel are used on election days because people feel a sense of security.
Agbaje noted however that military personnel would not go to polling boots but only stationed to enforce the non-movement order.
He gave examples with the governorship elections in Osun and Ekiti states, saying that the elections were successful and free of violence because there was presence of military men.
He also said the electoral body was already considering how security personnel, observers and Nigerians abroad could be incorporated into the system so that they too could vote, probably on a day.
On the Permanent Voters, Cards (PVCs), the commissioner said all were not yet ready, saying while some PVCs were still being awaited from the INEC headquarters, others were yet to be collected by their owners.
He disclosed that the collaborative efforts of the civil society organisations (CSOs) have assisted the commission especially in the area of knowledge sharing workshops, voters and civic education, among others.
Agbaje also explained that a total of 1,073,904 PVCs had been distributed to voters in the state, representing 71.87 per cent as at February 25, 2015, while 420,265 representing 28,13 per cent are yet to be collected.
He therefore called on the people of the state to shun violence and avoid being used by any politician who will only use and dump them during election, adding that it is the responsibility of all to say no to violence during and after the elections.
