The chairman of Anambra State Civil
Society Network (ANSCONET), Mr Chris Azor has raised alarm that there large
quantity of small arms and other dangerous weapon illegally being possessed by
persons in the state, and, urged the security agencies to move fast and recover
them so that those having them would not use them to cause violence during the
forthcoming November 18 governorship poll in the state.
He stated this yesterday during a
stakeholders’ round- table conference organized in Awka, the Anambra state
capital by the National Orientation Agency ( NOA) in collaboration with a
German foundation, Konrad Adenauer Stftung ( KAS) towards making the state
governorship election a free, fair and credible exercise.
According to Azor “ If you go to
everywhere in the state you will find many short guns and other dangerous
weapons like axe in wrong hands, people who don’t have license to possess them.
The danger is that if these guns are not recovered from them before the
governorship election, they might use them to cause violence during election.
The practice all over the world is that when election is approaching like this,
the security agencies, especially the police will carry out a mop up exercise
to recover all guns in the hands of wrong persons so that those who have them
will not use t to harass and intimidate people at the polling units”.
He further tasked the Independent
National Electoral Commission ( INEC) to make hast be distribute Permanent
Voters Cards (PVCs) available to registered voters to ensure that no voter was
disenfranchised during the governorship polls.
In his address the Director general
of the NOA, Dr. Garba Abari charged members of the political parties in the
election and the candidates to conduct themselves in a manner that would garantee
a free a free and fair election.
He charged them to desist from hate
speeches, but embrace issue- based campaign.
Representative of KAS, Mr.
Uche Nwosu stated the foundation named of the pioneer German president, was
committed promoting the growth of democracy and rule of law in Nigeria, and
urged stakeholders in the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra state to
play by the rules.
The Administrative Secretary of the
INEC in the state, Mr. Charles Mbanaja pledged that the commission would provide
a level playing group to all the political parties and their candidates in the
election, adding the Commission would ensure that all registered voters were
provided with their PVCs before the day of the poll.
Deputy Commissioner of police in
charge of Operation at the state police command, Mr. Mike Okoli who represented
the Commissioner of police, Mr. Garba Umar stated that the command was ready to
ensure that the election was held in a peaceful atmosphere adding that the
command had made available telephone hotlines through which members of the
public could contact the command in case of any act of lawlessness during the
poll for prompt action.
Though virtually all the major
political parties taking part in the election, except the People’s Profressives
Alliance ( PPA) did not attend the conference, senior officials of all the
paramilitary agencies, the media m civil society group, town Union leadership,
were among other stakeholders that attended.
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