The Independent National Electoral Commission has said the Edo State governorship election will hold as scheduled.
The Nigeria Police and the Department of State Services had on Wednesday advised the electoral umpire to postpone the election based on security concerns.
The two security agencies at a news conference in Abuja said they have unearthed plans by dreaded sect, Boko Haram, to unleash violence on some state, Edo State inclusive.
Based on this, the top hierarchy of the electoral commission went into series of meetings.
On Thursday, INEC said it had made up its mind to go ahead with the election.
The electoral body on its Twitter handle: @inecnigeria, said the election will hold as scheduled.
“INEC will proceed with the Governorship election in Edo state on Saturday 10 September, 2016 as earlier scheduled,” the tweet reads.
A joint statement signed by Don Awunah for the Police and Garba Abdullahi of the DSS had stated: “While election is important, the security agencies cannot allow the peace of the country to be disrupted, and we will continue to remain vigilant and ensure consolidation of the successes gained in the current counter-insurgency fight.
“It is in regard of these that we are appealing to INEC which has the legal duty to regulate elections in the country to consider the need for possible postponement of the date of the election in Edo State in order to enable security agencies deal decisively with the envisaged terrorist threats.
“While the Police/DSS remain mindful of the inconveniences this request may cause the various political stakeholders, it is our strong resolve that security agencies need not be distracted from ensuring a peaceful and secured Nigeria now and always.”
So also did the INEC Director of Publicity and Voters’ Education, Oluwole Ozzi, tell PREMIUM TIMES there was no shifting the election.
In a terse message to the online newspaper, Ozzi said: “We are going with the election.”
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