The federal government disclosed that it has received intelligence reports that some foreign nationals are in possession of the Permanent Voter Card being issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the general elections.
It therefore announced plans to ensure more controls at all borders of the nation before and during the elections.
Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro, made the remarks yesterday in Abuja while addressing members of the diplomatic community at an interactive session titled “Peace and Security: 2015 General Elections in Nigeria” organised by the ministry of foreign affairs.
The two newly appointed ministers of state I and II of the ministry of foreign affairs, Prof. Nicholas Akise Ada and Ambassador Musiliu Obanikoro attended the meeting.
Moro disclosed that all security agencies, particularly the Nigeria Immigration Service have already been deployed to the borders.
The minister added that “We are aware that some agents have been arrested with PVCs, we also have intelligence reports that some foreign nationals are in possession of PVCs. This is why we have to ensure extra security at the border…they should not come because our security agents would apprehend them.”
The minister however said that the closure of the airspace is not being contemplated at the moment, but if there is need to resort to such extra measure, the government would not hesitate.
The government appealed to the governments of Chad, Cameroon, Republic of Benin and Niger Republic with which it has a bilateral agreement for a Multinational Joint Task Force, to work with it to effectively secure the borders from their ends.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali said the successes recorded by the Nigerian Army, over the Boko Haram sect have proven critics of the elections postponement wrong.
