The Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor, has reassured Nigerians that the armed forces and other security agencies are ready to provide a safe and secure environment for the February 25 and March 11 elections.

Mr Irabor gave the assurance while briefing journalists shortly after meeting with service chiefs and heads of security agencies on Monday in Abuja.

The closed-door meeting was attended by service chiefs, the inspector general of police, the directors-general of the State Security Service and National Intelligence Agency, and the chief of Defence Intelligence.

He said the purpose of the meeting was to review security arrangements for the elections and develop action plans to ensure that the exercise would be peaceful.

“We have just finished the meeting. The service chiefs, the inspector general of police, the DSS, represented by the director of operations, the DG, the NIA and the CDI. Looking at the security for the elections, and as you know, the police are the lead agency for elections security, we have compared notes and assessed the entire situation, and we are good to go,” stated the army chief.

He added, “The assessment is that we are set on all fronts. We got representation from the Independent National Electoral Commission, who, of course, you have interacted with and has also told Nigerians and the world that they are ready for this election. By and large, we are good to go, and I like to use this opportunity to assure Nigerians that on the security front, we are good to go on all fronts.”

Mr Irabor also gave assurance that the security agencies would cover every part of the country to ensure peaceful elections so that all eligible Nigerians exercise their franchise.

He added that contingency actions had been taken to address areas with peculiar security challenges.

(NAN)