The Commissioner of Police in Osun State, Fimihan Adeoye, says no fewer than 10, 000 police officers will be deployed for the September 22 governorship election in the state.
Mr Adeoye made disclosure n Osogbo, the state capital on Monday at a stakeholders retreat tagged ‘‘Vote Not Fight.’’
The Commissioner of Police was represented by Mufutau Ayinde, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Charge of Operations.
Mr Adeoye said the officers would be drawn from the Police Mobile Force, Anti-Kidnapping Unit and Explosives Ordnance Detection Unit.
The commissioner of police, who noted that the command had identified crisis-prone areas in the state, said adequate strategy had been put in place to ensure free and fair election.
“There is no cause for alarm for the election. We are going to ensure zero tolerance for violence before, during and after the election.
‘‘Politics is not warfare but rather it is a service to humanity and that is why everyone must abide by the rules,’’ Mr Adeoye said.
Also speaking, Olusegun Agbaje, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, said INEC was ready for the conduct of the election.
Mr Agbaje said the card readers that would be used for the election had been enhanced to perform optimally, adding that incidence forms would not be used.
Represented by Stephen Akinojewande, INEC’s Head of Department of Voters Education and Publicity, Mr Agbaje urged the electorate to get their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
While disclosing that more than 641,592 PVCs were yet to be collected, Mr Akinojewande urged politicians to abide by the rules of the game.
In his remarks, Ben Aga, the National Democratic Institute Project Manager, said the retreat was organised to sensitise political stakeholders on the need for free and fair election.
Mr Aga also urged youths to shun thuggery before, during and after the election.
The retreat was organised by two non-governmental organisations, Young Stars Development Initiative and Kimpact Development Initiative.
The retreat was also supported by the National Democratic Institute, United States Agency for International Development and UK aid.
