Ahead of the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday met with the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno.
The meeting, which was held at the INEC conference room in Abuja, had in attendance the Chairman of the commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, heads of various security agencies, Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) as well as senior electoral officials.
Mr Monguno was represented by an NSA official, Sanusi Galadima.
In his remarks, Yakubu decried the worsening insecurity in Anambra, warning that the rate of attacks in the state may affect the commission’s plan for the poll if not properly tackled.
He said the commission is particularly concerned about the safety of staff and Adhoc staff who will help in the conduct of the election, adding that they need strong assurances of their safety during and after the election.
According to the INEC boss, information at his disposal indicated that the attackers who have unleashed mayhem in the south-eastern state do not want the governorship election to hold next month.
While recalling the last meeting held on September 9 where the commission reviewed its preparedness for the exercise, Yakubu lamented that the attacks had increased since then.
He also decried a situation whereby many innocent lives have been lost in the region with several properties destroyed
