A total of 7,079 personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps have been deployed for Saturday’s governorship election in Ondo State.
Aside from this, 60 sniffer dogs have also been provided by the agency to ensure orderliness and security during the exercise.
Hillary Madu, NSCDC Deputy Commandant-General in charge of Operations, disclosed this in Akure on Friday.
He said that NSCDC personnel would be controlled by four Assistant Commandant-Generals and seven commandants deployed for the election.
Madu explained that the junior and senior officers were drawn from different commands of the NSCDC in the country.
According to him, all personnel have been warned to remain apolitical during the election.
“We have deployed 7,079 personnel, four Assistant Commandant-General, and seven commandants. And this is not a joke. We will ensure our officers remain apolitical during the exercise.
“We promise Ondo State people that the exercise is going to be very peaceful.
“We want to call on our royal fathers, religious leaders, and our mothers to warn their wards that they should not cause any havoc during this exercise.
“The state belonging to youth but let us have a credible and peaceful election coming Saturday.”
PHOTONEWS: Joint Security Personnels Embark On Operation Show Of Force In Ondo State Ahead Of Saturday Governorship Election | Sahara Reporters https://t.co/WtrX9bMiNP#OndoDecides2020 pic.twitter.com/2Oa7uDiDNw
— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) October 9, 2020
Earlier, the police deployed a total of 33,783 personnel to provide security for the state governorship election.
Additional 2,850 special agents will also be drafted in for the exercise, according to the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.
Also, the Artillery Brigade Command of the Nigerian Army has already deployed for the exercise.
Public Relations Officer of the brigade, Captain Ayo Omojokun, said the officers would mostly be deployed to the coastal areas of the state for the election.
He added that the officers would also be joined by over 60 men of the Nigerian Navy, who would be moving to the coastal areas of the state with six gunboats and five speedboats.
No fewer than 15 political parties would be participating in the election including the All Progressives Congress, Peoples Democratic Party and Zenith Labour Party.
