The Police has warned Political thugs in Kano state to stay away from polling units where re-run elections are scheduled to hold this Saturday vowing to deal with anyone who attempts to cause trouble or disrupt the electoral process.
The State Commissioner of Police, CP Mamman Daura made the warning on Wednesday in Kano during a stakeholders’ meeting on supplementary election organized by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
The Commissioner who was represented by DC Ma’azu Muhammad revealed that over three thousand Police officers comprising of nine units of Mobile Police personnel have been drafted to the affected area with the view to curtail any security challenges that may arise.
He warned that any political party planning to engage thugs to foment trouble before, during and after the Saturday re-run elections should have a rethink and allow a smooth conduct of the elections adding that the Police resorted to such massive deployment in order to maintain peace in the state.
Meanwhile, the State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Zango Abdu has reiterated the commission’s readiness to conduct free and fair elections during the April 15th re-run elections for House of Reps and state assemblies.
According to him, despite the large scale of violence recorded especially during the gubernatorial and state assembly elections in Kano, the commission performed extremely well as the BVAS performed over 90% which met the expectations of the electorates.
That despite the violence, Kano recorded the highest number of voters with 2million voters, the highest in the country which shows that kano electorates are becoming more informed and adopting better ways of exercising their civic rights during election.
However, Abdu revealed that 206 polling units were affected and that elections will be held for 2 Federal constituencies and 14 State Constituencies noting that arrangement have been made to relocate Dambatta collation centre tp INEC office in the area which has the worst case of violence which has 43 thousand votes to prevent reoccurrence of the last elections.
Zango Charge Political parties in the state to join hands with his commission towards the smooth conduct of the election as his office is determined to erase the new phenomenon, ‘inconclusive election’ in Kano which he described as an aberration to democracy.