Anambra State Commissioner of Police Hosea Karma has advised the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Lawrence Azubuike to ignore moneybag politicians if he wants to succeed.
He gave the advise when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) team visited the police command yesterday.
The INEC team was on a familiarisation tour of security agencies. The team visited the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and Department of State Security (DSS).
Karma said the only way to conduct a credible election was to shun the overtures of moneybag politicians.
“Elections here have been commercialised because of heavy weight politicians who are very influential; they can make white become black.
“They will come to you but once INEC declares a result, no one can do anything about it. Hence, all we are saying is that you should be fair so that when elections are tendered from the field, it will be a reflection of what you announced.
“We must do a good job so as to reclaim the glory of our image; we must be neutral at all times. I believe in doing a good job, and no matter anyone’s wealth, I always do what is right, the worst that can happen is a transfer,” Karma said.
The police commissioner assured the REC of the support of the force.
Azubuike said he and INEC’s management team decided to pay a courtesy call to the police commissioner to seek his support in the coming rerun.
“INEC cannot conduct a free election without the police, so we do not take our partnership with the police for granted. We will do all we can to ensure that the relationship is nurtured,” Azubuike said.