FCT Council Poll: CTA Identifies 13 Flash Points, Demands Tighter Security
BY EDMOND ODOK, ABUJA – As voters in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) go to the polls today to elect new sets of chairmen and councillors for the six Area Councils, an election monitoring group, Centre for Transparency and Advocacy (CTA) has identified 13 flashpoints that required considerable security attention during the exercise.
The group has therefore urged relevant security agencies to deploy more personnel to these areas in order to forestall possible hiccups and electoral violence by some miscreants.
The elections will hold today, Saturday, February 12, 2022, in the six Area Councils of Abaji, Abuja Municipal (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, and Kwali.
According to CTA, failure by the relevant security agencies to enhance security measures in the identified areas could inadvertently cause voter apathy and provoke actions that could threaten the peaceful conduct of the exercise.
Speaking with newsmen ahead of the election in Abuja, CTA Executive Director, Faith Nwadishi, said the Nigeria Police, in particular, must deploy adequate personnel to the affected areas to prevent possible actions and reactions that could mar the electoral process.
She said though the situation has been relatively peaceful in the FCT, it was important to plan for any eventuality, saying; “Despite this seeming quietness, CTA urges security agencies especially the police not to let its guards down but to double efforts to nip any security breach in the bud especially as we approach election day tomorrow.
“We note that there is better coordination amongst the security personnel and the police, as the lead of the security team, have assured of adequate security and coordination across the polling units. To this effect, hotlines have been released.
“However, these following locations have been identified by the police as election flashpoints; Karshi, Deidei, Zuma Rock, Kabusa, Gishiri, Abaji Nebu, Yangoji, Yaba, Kwali Kwaita, Mate, Azam, Kuje Pegi and Bwari.”
Nwadishi, who urged FCT residents to turn up en masse and support their preferred candidates with votes, said they must also make the right choices by saying no to vote-buying and trading from political actors.
The CTA Executive Director, while warning that electoral malpractices in any form diminish the citizens’ rights to make free choices, applauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its preparedness and readiness to conduct a hitch-free exercise in the nation’s capital.
Empowered by the constitution to handle election matters in the FCT, INEC will have elections holding in all polling units throughout the six Area Councils in 68 constituencies for the six chairmanships and 62 councillorships positions.
A total of 14 political parties are participating in the elections with their candidates wooing the 1,373,492 registered voters in the FCT for support.
In all 68 constituencies, 55 candidates are gunning for the position of chairmen with 363 candidates battle-ready for councillorship slots.
