Ahead of the general elections starting on Saturday, the Kwara State Police Command today expressed readiness to ensure a peaceful election and vowed to deal with anyone with the intention of jeopardizing the peaceful conduct of the exercise.
The command specifically appealed to professional vulcanizers who display unused tyres in front of their shops to pack the tyres to prevent a situation where the unused tyres would be used to set bonfires on the highways.
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Salihu Garba who briefed newsmen on the preparedness of the police said “it would be out of place” for people who specialize in fixing automobile tyres to display unused tyres during election period.
“If there is anything, these unused tyres are used to make bonfires on the highways which we are not going to tolerate. We are begging them to please keep them before my people come to pack them and that would be final”, he said.
The commissioner stressed that no individual or even candidate of any political party, no matter how highly placed, would be allowed to move about during election except those on essential services.
He said, “No dignitary of whatever flag would be allowed to go about on election days with security men. The law cannot be violated here in Kwara State, we are not going to tolerate it, we will do our best to ensure that uniformed personnel are not accompanying their details to polling units. But there is exception.
“Like tomorrow, maybe the Deputy Governor wants to travel to his village for election, there is no way we can say that he should not be accorded police escort. But this is not to say on Election Day, he would go to the polling unit with the uniformed security men”.
He allayed fear of the police personnel going on strike, saying all issues relating to allowances have been resolved. The CP disclosed that the command had also started paying allowances for personnel on election duty.
“We are working in collaboration with other security agencies. Even yesterday we had a meeting on how to balance manpower. So we are in synergy. No single outfit would be doing the patrol alone”, he added.
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