…advises them to “think twice”
National Security Adviser, Maj Gen Babagana Monguno (rtd), on Tuesday, warned anyone planning to undermine the governorship and State Assembly elections on Saturday to have a rethink, saying such plans would not be in their best interest or in the interest of the country.
Monguno issued this warning in Abuja at a meeting of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security ahead of Saturday’s election held at the National Headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The NSA said Saturday’s elections would be much more complicated and contextually different.
Monguno stated, “First of all, we are going to have 1,021 constituencies. Meaning, we are going to have more people interested, more people voting, more collation centres and, obviously, the dynamics will be much more different than the elections that we have just concluded.”
He however commended the efforts of the various political parties and individuals that participated in the February 25 elections, especially those that called for peace and calm.
The NSA urged political gladiators and individuals at the state level to demonstrate the same level of maturity and discipline by calling their supporters to conduct themselves in a manner that is in sync with the expectation of a larger Nigerian society.
He added, “So far so good, we do not envisage anything that is going to be terrible or apocalyptic in terms of the next few days. But that does not mean that we should all do away with our state of readiness. We must comply with the rules. We must also allow everyone to exercise their fundamental rights as citizens of this country. What we do not want happening is for anybody to take the law into his or her own hands.
“I want to be very clear in this, we are going to give maximum support to all entities involved in this process and we are also calling on the political bigwigs to call their lieutenants to order. Anybody who is itching to undermine this process should please think again. It is not in his own interest, it is not in the interest of the nation as well.”
He assured that he would be communicating with the chairman of INEC if there is anything that needs to be done or added, stressing that his office is open and readily available to give that support.
Monguno said security agencies would continue to work round the clock, stressing that all the crisis centres, as well as the communication systems are also open.