EDO STATE PEACE ACCORD AND STAKE HOLDERS MEETING
The Edo State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Olusegun Odumosu held a Peace Accord and Stakeholders meeting at the Police Officers Mess in Benin City on Wednesday, 30th January, 2019 concerning the general elections scheduled to start in February 2019.
ADDRESS
PROTOCOLS
It is my pleasure, on behalf of the Officers and Men of the Edo State Police Command, to welcome you all to this peace building and peacemaking meeting of critical Stakeholders concerning the 2019 General Elections which is around the corner. I also wish to bring to you the warm greetings of the Inspector General of Police, Ag.IGP. Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, NPM, mni.
There is no better time to have this strategic meeting than now considering the fact that the election we are talking about will be conducted in few days from now. This is actually the time to come together and dialogue on how to have a free and fair election devoid of any rancor and acrimony. One thing is certain, election will come and go but Edo State will continue to remain thereafter. Consequently, the blood of every Edo State citizen is more precious than the election and we definitely do not need to lose anybody or group in order to clinch to power. This is the time to get it right so that we can prove to the world that Edo State can set the pace for a peaceful, free, fair and credible election in Nigeria.
Election is no war and should not be seen as war. Always remember that in any contest, there must be losers and winners. Thus, we must prepare our minds and resolve that we shall go into this contest in the spirit of sportsmanship.
The Command under my watch will do everything humanly possible to remain neutral, apolitical, firm and professional. The Police will provide a level playing ground for all the Political Parties in the State. This is my irrevocable pledge and I promise to ensure its full realization in the forthcoming Elections.
There is no doubt that, the 2019 Elections will be a great test that will subject our professionalism and commitment to duty, to national and International scrutiny. The world is watching us and we promise not to let them down. I hereby assure the good people of Edo state in unequivocal terms that we are fully prepared for the election as every arrangement has been put in place to ensure that the Elections would be free, fair credible and most important of all, peaceful. We shall leave no stone unturned towards achieving this lofty objective.
Let me at this juncture, salute, the vision and mission of the Inspector General of Police, Ag.IGP. Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, NPM, mni who assumed duty as the 20th indigenous Inspector General of Police at this critical time of our Nation’s history. He has emplaced strategic action plans to police the forth coming elections. I am convinced and promise you that his strategic action plans, will not only get us out of the woods but will also reposition the Nigeria Police Force and make her the envy of all.
The Police High Command, as part of the preparation for this election has initiated Training Program on capacity building, on Democratic Policing and Election Security Management for our Officers and men. This is still up and ongoing.
The Training program and capacity building initiated at the Police High Command has been replicated at the Command level, and I have put in place, elaborate security measures aimed at entrenching and engendering a new dawn in Election and electioneering process in this command.
Recall that shortly after my assumption of duty, I paid a courtesy visit to the Oba of Benin Omon’oba n’Edo Uku akpolopolo Oba Ewuare II where I pledged to do my utmost best to make the State safe and secure. The Oba Pledged his support and I wish to tell the good people of the state that I have the royal backing and support to police the forth coming election in the most peaceful and credible manner we have ever witnessed in recent times.
The meeting of today therefore provides another unique opportunity for us all to rob mind towards this critical engagement in our collective resolve to develop an effective framework that will engender optimal performance during the forthcoming and after this onerous national assignment. We must come together and reason together.
We shall seize this moment to deploy all our human and material resources in the state to provide a conducive and crime free environment which will make the election more decent and acceptable without any rancor or acrimony. Towards achieving this, I implore all present here to individually and collectively resolve:
- As Security Agencies, we will at this meeting pledge to be neutral, a-political, decisive and professional.
- As Party leaders- we need to talk to our supporters to vote and not fight.
- As Youth leaders who are in majority, we need to impart it on our people to say NO to violence so that they will refuse and reject any attempt by anybody to use them as political thugs.
- As market Women and Traders Associations, we need to talk to ourselves, to do the right thing and not to be cajoled into vote buying and selling.
- As Royal fathers, we need to talk to our subjects to maintain a peaceful decorum throughout the period of election..
- As Political Parties, we need to play the game according to the rules.
- As Religious leaders, we need to talk to our flocks that Jesus Christ is the Prince of peace and that Islam is a religion of peace.
Security generally is the business of everybody and election security is indeed a collective assignment. We all must be involved in the spade work of sanitizing the State to make it a safe and secure space for a seamless Electoral Process.
In this meeting we should all agree to do the needful, not to give room for Electoral offences and where or when they occur, the security agencies shall deal decisively with offender(s) regardless of his or her status as nobody, I repeat NOBODY is above the law.
As the Co-Chairman of the Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) comprising of all the Sister Security Agencies in the State, including the Coordinators of the National Youth Service Corps and National Orientation Agency, I will continue with the robust consultative productive and strategically focused cooperative meetings which my predecessor had had with the committee over time and by the Grace of Almighty God, we shall deliver on our mandate.
Finally, I am highly optimistic that we shall have fruitful deliberations in this meeting and we shall jointly and severally achieve the desired peaceful, credible free and fair election that we all craved for.
Conclusively, on behalf of the Inspector General of Police, I want to thank you all for attending today’s meeting and for being part of the History that we are making today As we go back, I enjoin you all to put into practical use all the suggestions and series of advice that would be offered in this meeting because in doing so, we shall eventually get to our desired destination.
Thank you and God bless you all.