THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday, November 6, begun distributing sensitive and non-sensitive materials for the forthcoming Anambra governorship election scheduled for Saturday, November 8.
The exercise, which took place at the Awka branch of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) came just two days before the poll.
According to the INEC data, 2,802,790 registered voters across 21 Local Government Areas, 326 political wards, and 5,718 polling units are expected to participate in the exercise.
The INEC data further shows that over 1.7 million voters have collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), while more than 7,000 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will be deployed for the election.
The ICIR reported that the electoral body had cleared 16 candidates from various political parties to vie for the highest political office in the state , including the incumbent Governor Charles Soludo All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Ukachukwu Nicholas, All Progressives Congress (APC), Ezenwafor Jude, Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), and Moghalu Nnadubem, Labour Party (LP).
During the distribution of election materials at the CBN office in Awka, on Thursday, The ICIR observed that the process was conducted per LGA, with trucks moving in and out of the premises under heavy security escort.
The materials were transported to designated INEC offices across the LGAs under police supervision.
Addressing journalists, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Queen Elizabeth Agwu, reassured voters of the commission’s neutrality.
She said the election materials being distributed included BVAS, FormsEC9A and EC8B.
“What we are doing here at the Central Bank is the delivery of sensitive materials, including BVAS, Forms EC8A and EC8B, for the Saturday election,” she said.
“Early in the morning, don’t forget that each LGA has their own RAC centres. In the morning as early as 6am, they will move to the polling unit to set up. Our election starts by 8:30 but we have mandated that by 7am they will be there and set up fully so that the election will take place peacefully.
“That’s why we are here today. For everybody to see the sensitive materials which is the main material for election,” she added.
On his part, the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Ikioye Orutugu, affirmed the deployment of over 55,000 security personnel across the state to ensure a safe and peaceful voting process.
“Election with take place across the polling unit come Saturday, except two polling units and this is as a result of zero registered voters. No person has registered to vote in those two polling units otherwise the election will go ahead in all locations as expected on Saturday.
“Everything that is needed to be put in place and ensure that this happens, in terms of security and logistics has been put in place. And part of meeting the timeline is what we are witnessing today which is the commencement of election materials from CBN Awka,” he noted.
He encouraged voters to come out peacefully and exercise their civic right without fear of intimidation, adding that media team who needed security for their movement would be provided.
The ICIR reports that the Saturday’s elections have drawn 121 accredited local and international observers and 76 media organisations.
It’s also the first assignment for the new INEC chairman, Joash Amupitan, a professor.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M