State Security Service (SSS) Director-General Ekpeyong Ita yesterday said "do-or-die" politics is pervasive in Nigeria because government remains the largest employer of labour and a major source of income.

Ita, who spoke during the commencement of a two-day national workshop on "Election Security Management" organised by the Police in Abuja said some politicians adopt unconventional tactics to get into power.

"It is unthinkable, unimaginable and unacceptable" for some political actors in Nigeria to fail during political contests, he said, adding that some political actors regard elective positions as opportunity to illegally amass wealth from the public treasury.

Ita said: "Politics in Nigeria has always been a game of intensity anchored on must-win syndrome. This is obviously because government remains the major source of employment and income. Therefore, to get into government, some political actors deploy unconventional methods to achieve victory.

"To this category of politicians, failure is unthinkable. It is unimaginable and unacceptable. And this kind of attitude is what is giving us a great deal of headache, it is a source of security worry and it is what is keeping us here. Accordingly, the situation has led to divisive politics, which tends to divide instead of uniting us.

"There is no doubt that politics in Nigeria is becoming very bitter by the day, particularly as some desperate politicians are getting increasingly intolerant of their opponents. This situation has led to increasing unguarded, inflammatory and unpatriotic statements, which are capable of undermining the stability of the country.

"The Police and the SSS have intervened on some occasions; we’ve called them; we’ve spoken to them, we called the political party leaders; we called individuals; we have warned them but the situation still continues.

"Very sadly, as a build-up to April 2011 elections, the nation has witnessed a spate of assassination and other violent crimes. This has been assessed to be politically motivated, fuelled by the struggle for the control of political space, party structures between and among politicians.

Inspector-General of Police Hafiz Ringim said security agencies are prepared to ensure free and fair elections.

Ringim, who was represented by his deputy Ivy Uche Okoronkwo, said: "The Police have concluded arrangements for adequate security coverage during the April elections. As part of preparations towards the elections, we have held meetings with leaders of political parties to inform them about our preparation and solicited for their support in this all-important assignment.

"There will be massive and joint deployment of personnel of relevant agencies to ensure effective coverage of all the 120,000 poling units nationwide. The military will play complementary role in this regard with particular emphasis on the protection of key infrastructure during the period of the elections."