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About 30 police commissioners will supervise the September 22 governorship election in Osun State, the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, disclosed on Thursday.
According to the police boss who spoke at a security seminar with stakeholders in the election Osogbo, during the polls, the commissioners will oversee the 30 local governments in the state, taking it one commissioner to one local government.
He said the idea was mooted as a way of strengthening security for the election.
The IG indicated that the election may not need the deployment of a large number of policemen as was the case in Ekiti state where about 30,000 policemen were deployed for the July 12 governorship election.
“Obviously I think we are going to do normal deployment here. I have seen and confirmed here that this is a very peaceful environment. This place is peaceful. In some other places you see people causing problems and formenting trouble. But this is a very peaceful and orderly environment. No, we won’t have unusual deployment for this election,” he said.
Idris reiterated the commitment of the police to ensuring that the exercise is not disrupted in any way, stressing that it was the reason behind deployment of 30 commissioners to the state for the election.
In his own remarks, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Segun Agbaje, said INEC was working hard on every aspect of the election. He said the commission was ready and well-prepared for the election. He encouraged politicians and other stakeholders to play according to the rules.
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, who as also part of the seminar, called on politicians, INEC, security agencies and other stakeholders in the election to place the interest of the nation above any other. He advised them to ensure that all voters are able to cast their votes in an atmosphere of peace, stressing that peace is needed for development to happen.
Representatives of other security agencies, traditional rulers, civil society groups, market women and political parties, among others, were in attendance.