ANAMBRADECIDES2021: Security Officials Absent In Many PUs Despite Over 40,000 Deployed

#ANAMBRADECIDES2021: Security Officials Absent In Many PUs Despite Over 40,000 Deployed

November 6, 2021

Despite the deployment of over 34,000 police officers to Anambra for Saturday’s governorship election, many of the polling units in the state were without police presence as of 9:30 a.m. our Correspondent reports.

Apart from the police announcing the deployment of 34,58q17 operatives to Anambra, the civil defence (NSCDC), the army, SSS and other security agencies also deployed thousands of officers to the state.

However, many of the over 5,000 polling units in the state, including those in Aguata Local Government Area, had no police presence Saturday morning.

Journalist visited polling units in Umuona, Ekwulobia, and Isuofia, all of which had the same issues despite a significant turnout of voters.

At PU 002, Ofiyi Square, Isuofia, Aguata LGA, where APGA candidate Chukwuma Soludo is expected to vote, there was no security official at the unit as of 9:30 a.m. Officials of the electoral commission, INEC, were, however, present.

The Presiding Officer of the polling unit, Idris Hassan, told Newsmen that he and his team were not accompanied by any officer while transporting election materials from the RAC to the PU.

Observers from have visited not less than 12 PUs within Isuofia and none was manned by security officers as of 9:30 a.m.

However, the INEC centres, RACs, as well as INEC LGA headquarters were filled with security officers, suggesting that the problem was how to get vehicles to convey the security officials to their units.