WE ARE READY TO HOLD ANAMBARA STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTIONS
Oru Leonard
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in Nigeria, has reassured Nigerians that the Commission is ready to hold the Anambara State Governorship elections which holds on Saturday, November 6, 2021.
This affirmation was made by the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu in welcome address during the special consultative meeting with political parties at INEC Headquarters today.
According to him, “We have moved all non-sensitive materials for the election to the 21 Local Government Areas of the State. As usual, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is handling the delivery of sensitive materials to the State on schedule. Our State office in Awka is arranging for stakeholders to inspect the materials at the premises of the CBN in Awka. As is the case in all elections, the sensitive materials are moved under security escort to each Local Government Area from where they are distributed to the Registration Areas or Wards and finally to Polling Units on Election Day. I urge you to inform your Party Agents to be present for inspection of the materials at the CBN and to follow the movement of the materials to various locations should you chose to do so.”
He recalled that three weeks ago, the Commission published the register of voters for the Anambra Governorship election on 7th October 2021 i.e. 30 days to the election as required by law. Each of the 18 political parties was given a soft copy of the register. In addition to meeting the requirement of the law, the presentation of the register is significant for another reason.
Yakubu disclosed that the Anambra Governorship election will be the first that voting is taking place in polling units since the recent successful conversion of voting points arising from the expansion of voter access to polling units in Nigeria. An additional 1,112 polling units were established in Anambra State in addition to the existing 4,608 locations which brings the total number of polling units in the State to 5,720. Voters were encouraged to seize the opportunity of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise to transfer to the new polling units most convenient for them. Many did not do so which can be partly attributed to the security situation in the State which has affected the Commission’s pre-election outdoor activities, including voter education and sensitisation.
He reinstated the commitment of INEC to transparency, the Commission has compiled a comprehensive list of all the Polling Units without voters as well as those having under 50 registered voters. Copies of the list will be made available to all political parties at this meeting. The same document will also be uploaded to our website and social media platforms for public information.
“With just a few days to the Anambra election, it is our hope that any lingering grey areas will be discussed and addressed at this meeting. We will also brief you about the assurances we received from the security agencies and the outcome of our interactive meeting with the Joint Committee of the National Assembly this week.
“The Commission appreciates the presence of Chairmen and leaders of political parties for honouring our invitation to this meeting despite the very short notice and in the middle of your preparations for the Anambra State Governorship election and other party activities”, the INEC Boss concluded.
Responding, Chairman of the Inter-party Advisory Council (IPAC) and Chairman, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Dr Leonard Nzenwa who expressed delight with the successes achieved so far with IPAC’s intervention towards ensuring inter-party harmony, urged INEC to do all within its powers to ensure a free and fair election in Anambra State.
He said so far, the parties and candidates have played by the rules in their campaigns and regreted the continuous detention of the Labour Party ‘s candidate.
