A security assessment organisation, the CLEEN Foundation, has called for the improvement of public safety and security in the country in order to guarantee the success of the 2015 general elections.

The federal and state governments, it added,  should intensify efforts in addressing the  Boko Haram insurgency to avoid disruption of election activities.

Speaking at the presentation of the fourth security threat assessment conducted as part of preparation for the 2015 general elections, Executive Director, CLEEN Foundation, Mrs. Kemi Okenyodo, said insecurity had become a factor that must be addressed for the elections to be successful.

She  noted that the quest for peace and stability had become one of the dominant concerns in the run-up to the election, in view of the fact that the last few months had witnessed increasing tensions and violence in some states in the country.

Okenyodo called on the Independent National Electoral Commission  to sustain its engagements through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, which provides opportunity for synergy and collaboration among the security agencies.

She called for a sustained engagement among key institutions and organisations such as  security agencies, civil society, media, community and religious leaders towards restoring public confidence in the electoral process.

She said, “The crucial factor that needs to be addressed in order for the Independent Electoral Commission to deliver on the 2015 is security. Insecurity in the country is driven by two main factors; ethnicity and religion.

“There are issues relating to sectional or regional agitations which can be linked to competition for control of natural resources. Another dimension is the effect of climate change coupled with the perennial conflicts, which results in lack of grazing lands as a result of the harsh weather conditions have increased the skirmishes between farmers and pastoralists.”