By Christiana Ekpa
The Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) has declared that it will not engage the Western Nigerian Security Network (WNSN), also known as Amotekun, in the conduct of the forthcoming election.
OYSIEC chairman, Isiaka Olagunju, made this declaration on Thursday at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Correspondents Chapel’s guest platform programme tagged “Speak Out.”
Recall that the commission has concluded plans to conduct the local government election in April next year.
Olagunju, while speaking at the event held in Ibadan, noted that the commission will not work with Amotekun but instead engage the police, army, DSS, and NSCDC in the conduct of the election.
He declared OYSIEC’s readiness to engage at least 18,000 personnel to ensure that the election goes as expected.
He further disclosed that OYSIEC will screen candidates of political parties soon.
“In election management, the police are key in security matters. We have visited the police, the army, the DSS, NSCDC and the Correctional Service.
“We may not engage Amotekun to avoid the insinuation that they may be used to intimidate the people. We are going to engage the police, the army, DSS, NSCDC, and even the correctional centre.
“We have over 6,000 polling units now in Oyo State, and we will have at least three people in a polling unit. So, we will have about 18,000 personnel. We will engage them and give them the necessary training,” he said.
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