With less than 40 days to the general elections, voters in Sokoto, Imo, Katsina, Zamfara, Anambra and some other states have expressed apprehension over the spate of insecurity in their communities, saying they may not participate in the electoral exercise unless the situation improves.
They insisted that their communities were not safe enough for elections to take place and urged the Federal Government to devise urgent strategies to address the situation.
However, the Defence Headquarters said that more troops would be deployed in the affected states and communities, assuring that they would be safe enough for the elections to hold.
A member of the Sokoto State House of Assembly representing the Sabon-Birni Local Government, one of the local government areas facing security challenges, Aminu Boza, said until the security situation improved in the area, elections might not take place.
The lawmaker, who spoke to one of our correspondents on the telephone, said more than 40 villages in the council were affected by insecurity.
He said only the headquarters of the Sabon Birni, Isa and Goronyo local government areas were safe for elections.
He stated, “I can tell you that most of the people in the villages in those three local governments have run away from their homes; who is going to participate in the elections?
In fact, in all the eight local government areas comprising the Eastern Senatorial District, I doubt if there is going to be any election unless the situation improves from what we have today.”
The local governments are Isa, Sabon Birni, Goronyo, Rabbah, Gwadabawa, Ilela, Gada and Wurno.
Boza, however, commended the state Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Gumel, for dispatching security personnel to the local governments to restore law and order.
Also speaking, Mallam Haruna Abbah, a resident of Isa LGA, corroborated the lawmaker, saying only the local government headquarters and a few villages were safe for elections in the state.
Abbah called on security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that peace returned to the local government before the polls.
But the Head of Voters Education, INEC, in Sokoto State, Muhammad Takai, gave an assurance that security agencies would ensure the safety of all before, during and after the polls.
He said the commission had held a series of meetings with the heads of security agencies in the state with the assurance that things would improve before the elections.
The police spokesman in the state, Sanusi Abubakar, could not be reached for comments, but a senior police officer said everything was being done to restore peace in the affected areas.