Election: FRSC Corps Marshal charges officers to be diligent

The Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, has charged officers and men of the commission to be diligent in carrying out their duties during the 2019 general elections.

Oyeyemi gave the advice at a two-day capacity building programme on election duties for the staff of the commission on Wednesday in Calabar, the Cross River capital.

Represented by the Cross River Sector Commander, Chidiebere Nkwonta, he said every officer must apply due diligence and integrity for which the commission was known to ensure peaceful and credible elections.

According to him, ensuring safe and free movement of election vehicles, materials and smooth electoral process was the duty of the FRSC.

The corps marshal said this was because the commission was the lead agency in road traffic administration and safety management in the country.

“FRSC is a member of the Inter Agency Committee on Election Security (ICCES) which is co-chaired by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National Security Adviser (NSA).

“In furtherance of our commitment to the success of the elections, the chairman of INEC, Prof. Manhood Yakubu during a Corps Marshal Strategy session held on Jan. 31, 2019 made request in the following areas:

“Screening and profiling of drivers and vehicles that would convey election materials and the deployment of FRSC patrol teams on election days to guard against violation of restriction order on movement of people.

“Working in conjunction with relevant security agencies to ensure that emergencies that could affect smooth elections are effectively tackled,” he said.

He added that on no account should an FRSC officer identify with any political party or interests outside the performance of the assignment given by INEC.

Similarly, the INEC Resident Commissioner for Cross River, Dr. Frankland Briyai, said the commission created 2,381 voting points in Cross River to reduce the time spent during the election.

Briyai was represented by the Head of Election Management and Field Services, INEC, Mr Ukweni Uffiah.

He said INEC was working with the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the National Association of Transport Owners (NATO) in the state to ensure successful polls.

The INEC resident commissioner said that the synergy was for easy access of electoral materials and personnel to the hard-to-reach areas.

“We have made provisions for 921 buses from NURTW and NATO and human carriers for easy access to the hard-to-reach areas.

“So, we would need officers to escort the materials to and from the units where they would be used”, he said.

In a lecture titled Risk and Threat Assessment for the 2019 Election, the Cross River Commissioner of Police (CP), Austin Agbonlahor, urged all policemen to carry out a risk and threat assessment wherever they were posted.

Represented by CSP Christian Nwakalor of the Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, Agbonlahor, advised the officers to look out for things, activities, people and structures in the polling units capable of causing problems.

He however cautioned them against touching INEC materials during the elections, saying that could be a major source of threat.

Mr Emmanuel Nnaemeka, a Deputy Director in the Directorate of State Security (DSS), said noted that militancy, cultism, kidnapping, land and boundary disputes were threats emanating from political activities in the state.

Nnemeka said the directorate had made elaborate security assessment of the state and identified flashpoints in the 18 local government areas of the state.

He urged all officers of the directorate to consider three factors while they discharged their duties during the election, namely, national interest, patriotism and synergy with other agencies.