Ahead of next Saturday’s local government election, Chairman, Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC), Isiaka Olagunju has said plans are in top gear for political parties and candidates to sign a peace accord by next week.
Olagunju gave the hint when the state Commissioner for Police, Adebola Hamzat paid him a courtesy visit at the OYSIEC headquarters, Agodi, Ibadan.
Speaking, he said the professionalism of the police was crucial in boosting the confidence of residents to come out en masse to participate in the election.
He harped on the need for security agencies in the state to ensure anyone who breaches election guidelines on the day of the election does not go unpunished.
Meanwhile, nonsensitive materials for the election would start going out from next Monday while sensitive materials would go out from next Thursday.
Speaking during the visit, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Adebola Hamzat, gave the assurance of the security of lives and properties for the April 27 local government election.
He said the visit was to know the level of the preparedness of OYSIEC, discuss areas of concern and share intelligence to have a hitch-free election.
He expressed the commitment of the command to ensuring a peaceful environment across the length and breadth of the state on the day of the election.
He added that the police would collaborate with its sister agencies and strategize with a view to ensuring that the election is conducted in a peaceful atmosphere.
Adebola admonished eligible voters not to boycott the election, noting that the local government administration was meant to be the closest to them.
He promised that the assignment given to the command by OYSIEC would be done professionally and with utmost dedication.
He said: “We came here today as a follow-up to the previous meeting we had with the commission as we promised that the engagement was going to be continuous.
“We are here actually to inform the Commission of our preparedness for the election and also to see possible areas where we need to do better planning, put in better strategy, to see that the election is peaceful and conducted under a very peaceful atmosphere.
“We should not have apathy based on security concerns, the Nigeria police force with other sister security agencies are ready to police the election, the command assures professional competence, and by God’s grace, everything will go well.”
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