By John Odhe, YENAGOA
The Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Ajao Adewale has convened a stakeholders’ roundtable at the Police Officers’ Mess, Yenagoa, to strengthen collective efforts towards peaceful, safe and credible 2027 general elections in the state.
The CP, who is also the chairman, Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), brought together a representative of the Bayelsa State Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and service commanders of security agencies.
Also brought together were political party representatives, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations, the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) and community leaders.
Addressing the participants, Ajao stressed that peaceful election was a collective responsibility, urging political parties, candidates and their supporters to shun violence, intimidation, hate speech, inflammatory statements and other conducts capable of threatening public peace.
He also called for political tolerance, responsible campaigns, compliance with electoral laws and sustained cooperation among stakeholders.
Ajao assured collaboration with sister security agencies, to deploy proactive, intelligence-led measures before, during and after the elections to prevent violence, protect lives and property and guarantee a safe environment for voters to exercise their civic rights.
The representative of the INEC REC, Mrs. Eme Agbor Akpan, an administrative secretary, emphasised compliance with the Electoral Act and established electoral guidelines.
Other stakeholders, in their contributions, commended the CP for the timely engagement and reaffirmed their commitment to information sharing, inter-agency collaboration and collective action against electoral violence.
The CP reiterated the Command’s commitment to safeguarding the democratic process and urged all political actors and residents to embrace the spirit of Bayelsa first, prioritising peace over political interests.
Members of the public were also encouraged to promptly report suspicious activities and emerging security threats to the appropriate authorities.
