The Edo State Commissioner of Police, Funsho Adegboye, has assured the public that the police will remain neutral and ensure a fair electoral process for the upcoming governorship election on September 16.

On Thursday, Adegboye stated that no individual or political party would be allowed to interfere with the electoral process. He made these remarks in Benin after a closed-door meeting between INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and security agencies.

Adegboye emphasized the importance of impartiality for the successful conduct of the state election. “For example, on the issue of some exercise being hijacked, I want to assure you of this, that there will not be anything like hijack,” he said. He added, “There are also pockets of complaints regarding some security agencies. I want to assure you that people that are not supposed to man electoral processes will not be allowed to take part. People should rest assured; they should go for the registration without fear.”

He also assured INEC that there would be proper coordination among security agencies in preparing for the election, including in challenging areas such as riverine regions.

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, INEC Chairman, described the meeting as a routine engagement. He noted that it involved INEC, security and intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and emergency services, all working together in preparation for the election.

“As we are aware, collaboration exists at the national level, where we have the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), co-chaired by the INEC chairman and the National Security Adviser. That same arrangement is also replicated at state level, where we have the ICCES chaired by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, with the Commissioner of Police as co-chair,” Yakubu explained.

Yakubu mentioned that several issues were discussed during the meeting, including election preparations and complaints from some political parties.

He also said that the commission and security agencies would meet with political parties on Friday to address some of these complaints.

“We have also agreed that we are going to meet with the political parties tomorrow at 11 am. Again, it’s not a crisis meeting, it’s just a routine meeting with the political parties ahead of the election, so that we have a seamless process in Edo State,” Yakubu said.