President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Owerri charged the Nigeria Police Force to perfect operational plans that will guarantee a credible outcome in the 2023 general elections while remaining apolitical, firm, and loyal to democratic values.

Declaring open the three-day conference and retreat for senior police officers, Buhari directed the Police to review the current and evolving internal security threats as they may impact peaceful and successful elections.

The President, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said, “As I have often observed, elections are local, and it is only when the votes truly count that the faith of the citizens in the democratic process can be demonstrated and government legitimacy assured.

“This can best be guaranteed through well-policed election and security operations that are impartial, firm, and professional.

“This is what, on this day and occasion, I charge the Nigeria Police Force to deliver to the nation during the 2023 General Elections.

“I, therefore, task the Inspector General of Police to sustain his leadership standards that will guarantee a level playing field, and secure public space for the citizens to freely exercise their franchise, and for the outcome of the elections to be a true reflection of the people’s choices.”

Assuring the force of his full support and encouragement in the build-up to the 2023 polls, the President expressed delight that the reforms undertaken under his watch are paying off with members of the Force demonstrating high professional, ethical and operational standards, reflected in performances in internal security operations.

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Citing the conduct of the Police during the recent off-season electoral outings in some states, President Buhari said, “I desire to restore the primacy of the Police towards rebuilding public trust and professionalism.

“My vision is also to bequeath to the nation a Police Force that is not only modernized, but well-funded, suitably equipped, and appropriately re-oriented to effectively police our democracy and guarantee a stable internal security order under a citizen-led, technology-driven, rule of law guided by intelligence-based policing Models.

“I am inspired that by our reform initiatives, we have laid a solid foundation towards the restoration of the operational competence and professional efficiency of the Police.

“I am also pleased to note that our Police, in conformity to my democratic visions, and the manifestation of the positive impact of these reforms, have in recent times been demonstrating high professional, ethical and operational standards as reflected in their performances in internal security operations and during the recent off-season electoral outings in Edo, Anambra, Ekiti, and Osun States.”

The President, therefore, commended the Force leadership and all officers, emphasising the need to replicate the same feat in the forthcoming elections.

He noted that it was only by so doing that the Police could truly be defined not just as the true friends of the citizens, but as dependable and trustworthy partners in the drive to advance our democratic journey.

Buhari also used the occasion to restate his commitment to entrench a process of free, fair, transparent, and credible elections through which Nigerians elect leaders of their choice.

He declared that his administration has prioritized critical reforms in the Nigeria Police Force to reposition it to effectively fulfil its internal security and democratic governance mandates in conjunction with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other strategic agencies in the electoral process.

Listing some achievements recorded towards entrenching an effective policing system and credible electoral process, the President recalled that he had assented to the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Bill to provide a legal framework for an enhanced funding regime for the Force.

Similarly, he said the Nigeria Police Academy Bill had been signed into law, granting statutory recognition to the institution and positioning it effectively to attain its young and futuristic manpower development programmes.

Buhari commended Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State for the exemplary support to the Federal Government on security governance, further exemplified by hosting the police event themed, “The Imperative of a Nigeria Police Strategic Plan for Peaceful Elections.”

Uzodinma called on the Police to ensure that the Strategic Plan for the 2023 General elections should make it mandatory for all candidates to undertake an oath denouncing electoral violence.

He added that candidates should also be made to sign an undertaking that all disputes over election results can only be challenged peacefully through the court processes and parties to the dispute must be bound by the outcome of that process.

The Governor, who extolled Buhari for his commitment to peace and stability in the country as well as credible elections, noted that Imo State has emerged as the preferred destination for high-level security events, having hosted the 2022 Nigerian Army Day Celebration and now the Senior Police Officers Summit.

In his remarks, the Inspector-General of Police, Alkali Baba, assured the President and Nigerians that the Force would draw on the outcome of the conference to perfect its Election Security Strategy and Action Plans towards stabilizing the security and political landscape in the county.

He promised that the strategy would strengthen citizens’ confidence in the electoral process and produce a credible electoral outcome in the 2023 General Elections.

Lauding President Buhari for leading the reforms in the Nigeria Police Force, the IGP said, “Indeed, history will, undoubtedly, remember Your Excellency as the President with the most impactful agenda for the reform, re-equipment, re-orientation, and modernization of the Nigeria Police Force.”

He said the Police have taken delivery of thousands of operational assets procured with Presidential intervention.

The Police Chief expressed delight that all the assets acquired under this administration have been distributed to Police Commands and formations, adding that their deployment has remained the game changer in efforts to stabilize security and order across the country.

He also thanked the President for reviving the almost moribund Marine Unit, repositioning it to ensure security along internal waterways which was fast becoming a major crime route.

According to IGP Baba, the police have acquired and deployed five state-of-the-art marine gunboats in furtherance of this goal, in addition to 10 earlier acquired as part of the modernization and internal security operational plans.