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The Ebonyi government says it will strengthen the security at all Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices.

Stanley Emegha, the security consultant to the government, disclosed this Tuesday while speaking on efforts to forestall the recent arson on the INEC office in Izzi local government area.

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“The problem is that when we deploy the Ebubeagu security outfit to such facilities, some people would start insinuating that they want to hijack electoral materials,” said Mr Emegha. “We would, however, not succumb to such cheap blackmail but ensure that such facilities are adequately protected across the state.”

He added, “We would, in collaboration with other security agencies in the state, deploy joint security outfits at all INEC offices among other public facilities across the state.”

He noted that the arsonists thought that Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) and other sensitive materials were at the burnt INEC office.

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“Those causing these problems do not want elections to hold in Ebonyi as in other states, but their plans have failed. Elections would hold in Ebonyi as scheduled, and the people would protect their votes,” Mr Emegha added. “Anyone who destroys public facilities again in the state will meet his waterloo as the government would act decisively.”

Mr Emegha, the APC chair in Ebonyi, said the party would win the 2023 general elections.

“Contrary to insinuations by some disgruntled politicians, APC is rooted in Ebonyi and sure of the electoral victory at all levels of the elections. We are always educating our party members and supporters across the state to be civil in their utterances and actions,” the Ebonyi security consultant said, asking APC members and supporters “not (to) be like the opposition who cast aspersions on prominent stakeholders of the state in the name of politicking.”

He added, “They, for instance, describe major stakeholders who defected to our party as dead woods, but when such persons were in the opposition, they were not dead woods.”

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(NAN)