The Nigeria Air Force (NAF) has offered to assist the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the deployment of personnel and materials for the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in Borno State.

The pledge was made yesterday, during a courtesy visit to the Force Headquarters in Abuja by the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

Prof Yakubu said he was at the Air Force Headquarters to give further hints on the security challenges capable of affecting the CVR exercise in the North East.

The Chairman, INEC, explained that the Commission was embarking on a very historic exercise in which citizens would for the first time be given the opportunity to register as voters, all year round; and have mobilized for the exercise from all parts of the country including the North-East where the military was active for obvious reasons.

Prof Yakubu who expressed gratitude for the return of peace to the North East, however noted the difficulty experienced by CVR personnel in reaching out to their designated places of primary assignments, hence the appeal for support from the Air Force in the conveyance of men and materials, as well as in the provision of overall security for the exercise in areas affected by the insurgency.

The Chairman, particularly noted however, that there were security concerns for staff of the Commission handling the exercise in Damboa, Chibok, Goza, Bama and Kala-Balge Local Government Areas, but, “The challenge is not in the Local Government Headquarters, but in the roads leading to the Local Government Headquarters”, he said.

 Prof Yakubu therefore appealed to the Air Force to assist the Commission in critical areas including the delivery of men and materials to affected Local Government Areas by use of helicopters as well as the provision of security for the exercise.

Stressing the commitment of INEC at ensuring an all-inclusive exercise, Prof Yakubu said “…the intention of the Commission is to ensure no Nigerian is left out”, because, “every Nigerian counts and must be given the opportunity to register”.

In his response, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar expressed delight over the visit and allayed the concerns of the Commission by assuring that the affected Local Government Areas are fully covered by men of the Force on daily basis “…these are areas covered by our planes on daily basis, day and night”.

AVM Sadique further assured the Commission of the Air Force commitment to deploy national assets at its disposal for the successful conduct of the exercise.