Britain tells security agencies to remain impartial

AHEAD of 2019 generalelection, the British government, yesterday, asked the security agencies toremain impartial, neutral and not to intimidate voters at polling units, addingthat the choice of Nigerians must prevail by allowing the process to be free,fair and credible. It noted that issues of intimidation and vote-buyingwitnessed during the recent governorship elections and the violence aroundparty primaries were worrisome. The warning by the British government is comingbarely 24 hours after a joint statement by leading countries of the world,expressing concerns over the forthcoming polls. It called for campaigns devoidof hate speech and the need for relevant stakeholders in Nigeria to get thingsright in the elections.

Answering questions from journalists yesterday in Abuja, shortly after a closed-door meeting with the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, the Acting High Commissioner to Nigeria, Harriet Thompson, disclosed that issues surrounding the conduct of the elections and legislative interventions in the form of required bills needed for improvement of welfare of Nigerians were discussed during the meeting. According to the envoy, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and security agencies should also be seen to be impartial.”
Speaking further on what happened at the meeting she had with Saraki and the Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, the envoy said: “We met with the Senate President and the Majority Leader of the Senate to talk about very important legislative business that the National Assembly should undertake, even before the elections and with the start of the official campaign period at the weekend. “The bills that we particularly mentioned were the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, the Police Reform Bill, the Company and Allied Matters Act, the Gender Equality Bill and the Disability Bill. “These are all bills that we believe would make things better for Nigerians, for their rights, for their opportunities and for economic development. So we are really pleased that they will continue with their works.”