•Air Marshal Hassan B. Abubakar, Chief of Air Staff (left) and INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu
Ahead of Saturday, February 3 court-ordered rerun and bye-elections in some constituencies across the country, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to settle outstanding bills of the Force to enable swift deployment of resources for the national assignment.
It also renewed its commitment to the successful airlift of sensitive and non-sensitive materials to desired locations, reports Daily Independent.
Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Hassan Abubakar, made the commitment yesterday when he received a delegation from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) led by its Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, in his office at NAF HQ, stating that the commission has remained a dependable partner.
He disclosed that the NAF C130 aircraft usually deployed for such assignment is undergoing maintenance, but assured that other aircraft would be deployed early to ensure that the electoral materials reach their destinations on time.
“The successful conduct of elections is largely hinged on robust security and well-choreographed logistics supply chain management. The Nigerian Air Force has been INEC’s dependable partner in providing security in addition to rapid airlift for the distribution of sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials across the country. I assure you that we remain willing, able and ready to continue supporting INEC as we have always done in the past.
“At the moment, our C-130s are currently undergoing maintenance but we have other aircraft that can be employed to move sensitive materials. The caveat is that we need to move those materials a little earlier due to the capacity of the airplanes which we have available.
“I would like to seize this opportunity to remind the chairman that there are some outstanding bills which are yet to be cleared by INEC. The settlement of those bills will enable us to serve you better.
“We are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead and the positive impact we can collectively make Nigeria stand strong as the giant of Africa”.
Earlier in his address, the INEC Chairman had expressed appreciation to NAF for its support in helping the commission carry out its mandate.
“I would like to commend your cooperation in the area of election security and logistic support for the timely delivery of materials during general elections, off-cycle elections, bye-elections, supplementary elections and re-run elections. I want to place on record the neutrality and professionalism of NAF in particular and armed forces in general in discharging your responsibilities”, he said.
On the present assignment, he said the challenge of moving electoral materials to remote locations has informed the visit.
“This weekend, the commission will conduct bye-elections and re-run elections in 26 states of the federation. In nine states, two senators, four members of the House of Representatives and three members of state Houses of Assembly will be elected in bye-elections to replace members who passed on or resigned their memberships of the national and state Assemblies.
“In other states, re-run elections will take place at designated constituencies or polling units as ordered by the Election Appeal Tribunals. In all, the elections will fill vacancies in three Senatorial Districts, 17 Federal and 28 State Constituencies spread across 80 local government areas, 575 registration areas/wards and 8,934 polling units involving 4,904,627 registered voters out of which 4,613,291 Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) have been collected.
“In handling such a huge national assignment, the commission cannot do it alone. That is why we seek to mobilise every national asset, including NAF. It is in realisation of this objective that the law empowers the commission to seek the support of the security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies in the delivery of materials and the protection of election officials as clearly provided for in Section 27(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.
“The elections are holding this weekend. Working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), materials are being delivered to many locations. However, given the size and distance of some constituencies, we seek the support of NAF to expeditiously deliver materials to three locations in the North East, South East and the South West geo-political zones of the country. We have already indicated to the Chief of the Air Staff the specific locations and the tonnage of materials to be airlifted”.
