The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Anambra State on Thursday began distribution of sensitive and non sensitive materials for the conduct of by-elections into the Anambra South Senatorial district and Onitsha North 1 State constituency respectively.
Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Queen Elizabeth Agwu who carried out the distribution exercise before representatives of various political parties, security agencies and the journalists, assured of a hitch free and transparent process.
Agwu disclosed that the sensitive materials which were kept in the warehouse of the Central Bank of Nigeria, arrived on Wednesday night while the non sensitive materials had earlier been received by the commission.
All the materials for the two elections she said, were received and signed for onward movement to the eight local government areas where the polls will take place on Saturday by the concerned political parties and party agents present at the premises of the CBN, Awka the state capital.
The two elections taking place same day in the state were aimed at filling the vacant seats at both the Anambra South Senatorial district and Onitsha North 1 State Constituency following the deaths of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah of Young Progressive Party (YPP) and Hon Justice Azuka of the Labour Party (LP).
Senator Ubah had collapsed and died in the United States (US) while Hon. Justice Azuka was kidnapped and murdered on 24th December 2024 while returning home for the Christmas celebration in the commercial town of Onitsha.
The REC of the commission urged voters and Ndi Anambra to come out en masse to cast their votes for their chosen candidates, adding that they should disregard the rumour making the rounds that the commission had already written results of the elections or would rig the process in favour of anybody.
“We have been planning for this Anambra South Senatorial district by- election and Onitsha South State House of Assembly by-election,; these By-Elections were generated as a result of death of the two occupants of these seats. And I have done all the needful to ensure that this election becomes stress free,” she said.
“We are at the CBN today with all the concerned parties to access the sensitive materials- ballot papers, results sheets. We had packed the other sensitive materials -BVAS and EVR at the INEC office and we came over to the CBN to open other sensitive materials which received yesterday (Wednesday) night at the CBN here. That’s what brought here. All the parties are here, observers, Media and security agencies and we opened everything before everybody and they testified that there was no magomago (fraud) and everything went on fine.”
Accorisng to Dr. Agwu, “As we are speaking now, the vehicles are loading and they are going to the local government areas where they would continue the election process.”
She explained that, “the election will take place in 210 wards or Registration Areas, (RAs) with 8, 400 Adhoc staff with four Adhoc staff per polling unit, comprising of the PO, APO, APO2 and APO3”.
Over 8, 170 registered voters are expected to come out and cast their votes during the Onitsha North 1 State constituency poll while the figure for that of Anambra South Senatorial poll could not be ascertained as of the time of this report
Agwu that adequate security arrangement has been made following a resolution after a meeting of Inter Security Agencies For Election Security and stakeholders of the eight LGAs towards ensuring a hitch free, peaceful and transparent exercise.
“All the security agencies for the election have been moved to different areas for the election. They include the police, NSCDC, DSS and others. We are poised for success. Security agencies have assured Anambra people that there would be no loss of lives. They warned that people should mind their businesses, if you have no business with voting and election on that day stay in your house. People who have business with the voting and the election, they are assured that their lives would be protected, the REC said.
She, therefore, appealed to the people of the state to discard rumour mills as this digital age over allegations that “the REC has teamed up with the security agencies and Abuja INEC office to rig the election.”
“Rumour destroys the society, it does not help the society. We are here to do he needful, we are here to do things a cording to the rules and regulations as well as the law. We are not here to disenfranchise anybody. We have no interest; our interest is to make sure that the votes of the people count,” the assured.
“People should come out, I beg them to come and exercise their civic rights,” she concluded.
