President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Armed Forces and other security agencies in Nigeria to do everything it can to ensure that nothing stops the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State.
Briefing journalists after the meeting of security chiefs presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the National Security Adviser, revealed that President Buhari gave the armed forces the marching order in response to the heightened security challenges in Anambra state.
Monguno said, ‘The President has directed that under no circumstances will anything be allowed to stop the elections from taking place successfully. The people have a right to vote and select their leader.
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‘No group or individual will be allowed to stimulate anarchy and chaos, leading to murderous activities.
‘The President has made it very clear that the Armed Forces and all law enforcement agencies must make sure that the elections take place even if it means overwhelming the entire environment with the presence of security agencies.
‘There are so many implications for elections to be sabotaged by non-state actors; in the first place, we are in a democracy, secondly it is important to note that if these non-state actors should succeed in destroying the potentials for orderly elections, then it is natural that other parts of the country would also want to copy this same situation’.
The Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, who also attended the meeting, reiterated that the Police are ready to ensure there is peace in Anambra and all other parts of the country.
He said, ‘In particular, we talked about the Anambra governorship election coming on 6th of November and we want to assure the people of Anambra State and all Nigerians that the government is committed to conducting that election.
‘The election has to be free and fair, we are going to put every machinery in place to ensure that people are well secured. That is the only way to ensure that we promote democracy and good governance in this country.’
Among those at the meeting were Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN); Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; Minister of Defense, Major General Bashir Magashi (retd); Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari; and the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd).
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK