Buhari to police: Ensure peaceful elections in 2023

President Muhammadu Buhari has charged the Nigeria Police Force to perfect operational plans that will guarantee a credible outcome in the 2023 general election.

Buhari, who admonished the Force to remain apolitical, firm, and loyal to democratic values, directed the police to review the current and evolving internal security threats, saying they have an impact on peaceful and successful elections.

According to a statement issued by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, the President said this while declaring open the three-day conference and retreat for senior police officers in Owerri, the Imo State capital on Monday.

He said: “As I have often observed, elections are local, and it is only when the votes truly count that the faith of the citizens in the democratic process can be demonstrated and government legitimacy assured.

“This can best be guaranteed through well-policed election and security operations that are impartial, firm, and professional.

“This is what, on this day and occasion, I charge the Nigeria Police Force to deliver to the nation during the 2023 general election.

”I, therefore, task the Inspector General of Police to sustain his leadership standards that will guarantee a level playing field, and secure public space for the citizens to freely exercise their franchise, and for the outcome of the elections to be a true reflection of the people’s choices.”

Assuring the police of his full support and encouragement in the build-up to the 2023 polls, President Buhari expressed delight that the reforms undertaken under his watch are paying off with members of the Force demonstrating high professional, ethical and operational standards, reflected in performances in internal security operations.

Citing the conduct of the Police during the recent off-season electoral outings in some states, Buhari said: “My desire is to restore the primacy of the police towards rebuilding public trust and professionalism.

“My vision is also to bequeath to the nation a Police Force that is not only modernised, but well-funded, suitably equipped, and appropriately re-oriented to effectively police our democracy and guarantee a stable internal security order under a citizen-led, technology-driven, rule of law guided by intelligence-based policing models.

“I am inspired that by our reform initiatives, we have laid a solid foundation towards the restoration of the operational competence and professional efficiency of the police.

“I am also pleased to note that our police, in conformity to my democratic visions, and in manifestation of the positive impact of these reforms, have in recent times been demonstrating high professional, ethical and operational standards as reflected in their performances in internal security operations and during the recent off-season electoral outings in Edo, Anambra, Ekiti, and Osun states.”

The President, however, commended the Force leadership and all officers, emphasising the need to replicate the same feat in the forthcoming election.

Buhari noted that it was only by so doing that “the police can truly, be defined as not just the true friends of the citizens, but as dependable and trustworthy partners in the drive to advance our democratic journey.”

President Buhari further restated his commitment to entrench a process of free, fair, transparent, and credible elections through which Nigerians elect leaders of their choice.

He declared that his administration has prioritised critical reforms in the Nigeria Police Force in order to reposition it to effectively fulfill its internal security and democratic governance mandates in conjunction with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other strategic agencies in the electoral process.

Listing some achievements recorded towards entrenching an effective policing system and credible electoral process, the President recalled that he had assented to the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Bill to provide legal framework for an enhanced funding regime for the Force.

Similarly, he said the Nigeria Police Academy Bill had been signed into law, granting statutory recognition to the institution and positioning it effectively to attain its young and futuristic manpower development programmes.

President Buhari also listed the approval of a new and befitting salary and welfare regime that aligned the remuneration of police personnel to the dictates of their critical functions.

He added that funds have been released to support the recruitment of ten thousand police Constables annually, to address the wide manpower gap in the Force.

“In addition, I approved the adoption of the Community Policing Model as the internal security strategy of the country with requisite funds released to implement the initiative.

“Special Intervention Funds to address critical operational and capacity development initiatives of the Force were also approved. As part of the re-engineering project of the Force, the Federal Government is currently working with some Development Partners towards strengthening the police reform agenda,” Buhari stated.

President Buhari, therefore, commended Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, for his support to the Federal Government on security.

On his part, Governor Uzodinma called on the police to ensure that the Strategic Plan for the 2023 general election should make it mandatory for all candidates to undertake an oath denouncing electoral violence.

He added that candidates should also made be to sign an undertaking that all disputes over election results can only be challenged peacefully through the court processes “and parties to the dispute must be bound by the outcome of that process.”

The governor, who extolled President Buhari for his commitment to peace and stability in the country as well as his commitment to credible elections, noted that Imo State has emerged as the preferred destination for high-level security events, having hosted the 2022 Nigerian Army Day Celebration and now the Senior Police Officers Summit.

“Imo State is safe again for business and tourism, all thanks to President Buhari,” he said.

In his remarks, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Alkali Baba, assured the President and Nigerians that the Force would draw on the outcome of the conference to perfect its Election Security Strategy and Action Plans towards stabilising the security and political landscape in the county.

He promised that the strategy would strengthen citizens’ confidence in the electoral process and produce a credible electoral outcome in the 2023 general election.

The Star

Segun Ojo