Less than 24 hours to the 2023 general elections, the former Sierra Leone President, Mr Mike Koroma, has said that the scarcity of fuel and the new naira would constitute a threat to the elections.

“The Head of ECOWAS monitoring team identified the issues of fuel scarcity and difficulty experienced by the masses to obtain new naira currency as a contending threat to the elections,” said a statement by the acting Director, Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau.

Koroma who leads Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Election Monitoring team, said this Thursday at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) in Abuja, during a courtesy visit to the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor.

Speaking on their mission, Koroma said the team is in the country to observe the conduct of the 2023 elections with a view to ensuring a hitch-free electoral process.

Elated over the warm reception accorded to him and other members of his team, the former Sierra Leone leader stated that it was customary for ECOWAS to support its member states, “especially now a big brother country like Nigeria prepares to go to the polls to elect its leaders”.

In the statement, Gusau stated: “The Head of ECOWAS monitoring team identified the issues of fuel scarcity and difficulty experienced by the masses to obtain new naira currency as a contending threat to the elections.”

The team however expressed hope that there is a strong determination by stakeholders to achieve a hitch-free election.

According to the statement, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, in his remarks expressed delight over hosting the former Sierra Leone President and other members of the ECOWAS team.

“He recalled his peace keeping mission days in Sierra Leone during the reign of Mike Koroma; and noted that the former leader did his best to ensure a peaceful democratic transition. He described him as a role model in Africa.

“Regarding the maintenance of security during the elections, General Irabor explained that the Nigeria Police Force being a lead security agency with other para-military agencies at the forefront will have residual support of members of the armed forces.

“He emphasized that the military will remain at the background of the election as demanded by the constitution which requires military aid in support of civil authority.

“The CDS expressed optimism over the readiness of military and other security agencies to leave up to the expectation of Nigerians during the elections.

“He assured the ECOWAS team of a hitch-free and successful electioneering process.

“You are please requested to disseminate this information for the awareness of the general public.”

•Ex-Sierra Leone President Mike Koroma and Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor

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