Rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana has stated that Nigerians are not prepared for the general elections slated for Saturday, February 25.
Falana spoke while appearing on Arise TV programme on Tuesday.
He insisted that there was “no indication” that people were ready for the elections due to naira scarcity, hardship, and the security situation across the nation.
However, the lawyer advised that assurances of security for the elections should come from the Nigeria Police Force and the Independent National Electoral Commission and not from the nation’s military.
He said:
“By now, Nigerians should be fully prepared for the election. But unfortunately, there is no indication, and people are still saying will the election hold or not.
“The Chief of Defence Staff has no business with respect to our election. We are under a democratic system of government, and it should be the IGP that should be speaking about security. Because, it is the police, under the law, that will man the polling units. The armed forces are only asked to stand by.
“Let us all appreciate that we are operating a civilian dispensation and the military must go back to their barracks. The person that should be doing the talking is the INEC chair, who has said the commission needs cash to take care of some logistics.
“But has the money been released? No. Even the armed forces and the NSA spoke about the effect of cash scarcity on counter-insurgency campaigns. Those areas have to be addressed. And for the masses, it is only when you have access to your money that you can be happy and ready for the election. We must be ready and all these will have to be taken seriously.”
