Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday backed President Muhammadu Buhari’s directives to security agencies to be ruthless with ballot box snatchers.
Buhari on Monday at the opening of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Caucus emergency meeting in Abuja, warned political thugs that any attempt to snatch ballot box during elections will be at the risk of their lives.
Addressing State House Corespondents at the end of the meeting presided over by President Buhari, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, while responding to a question said: “If you want to intimidate voters to steal the mandate of the people, you should be able to face the wrath of the law.”
Mohammed also disclosed that the Federal Government on Tuesday commenced payment of salaries to workers to enable those that want to travel to their polling units to vote do so with ease.
The minister laud the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Aero Contractors and Arik Air for the slash in prices to encourage voters to return to their various stations to vote.
“On the part of the Federal Government also, we decided that to make it easy for those who will want to go back to vote, salary payment started yesterday (Tuesday) as opposed to the normal 25th of every month. This is just to ease the burden of people who want to go back and cast their vote.”