The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has deployed Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Mohammed Gummel and the Commissioner of Police in Kaduna State, CP Rabiu Muhammad, to Zamfara State to oversee the supplementary election for Kaura-Namoda South State Constituency.
AIG Gummel, while addressing police officers and other security agencies ahead of the exercise scheduled for August 21, warned against interference in the process. He also cautioned political thugs and miscreants against any attempt to disrupt the poll, assuring that security agencies are fully prepared to guarantee a safe and secure exercise in the five polling units where voting will take place.
On his part, CP Rabiu Muhammad reminded police personnel assigned to election duty to remain at their designated posts and avoid direct involvement in the voting process, stressing that their role is to secure the environment, not interfere with electoral activities.
Meanwhile, police authorities have banned state-owned security outfits from participating in the supplementary election.
The election will hold across two registration areas — Sakajiki and Kyambarawa wards — in Kaura-Namoda South Constituency.
The supplementary poll was scheduled after the Returning Officer, Lawal Sa’adu of the Federal University, Gusau, declared the initial by-election inconclusive. Sa’adu explained that the margin between the leading party and the runner-up was less than the number of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected in polling units where elections were cancelled.
Ahead of the vote, the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mahmuda Isah, assured political parties and voters during a stakeholders’ meeting in Gusau that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has put adequate measures in place to ensure a smooth, transparent, and hitch-free exercise.
