Anambra Guber Poll: Amupitan Faces Litmus Test Today
No fewer than 2.8 million voters will today Saturday decide who governs Anambra State for the next four years.
The governorship election is the first to be held under the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, who assumed office on October 23.
Many observers have said the election will be a proof of INEC ability to conduct a free and fair election and a test of its sincerity about electoral reforms.
INEC said a total of 2,802,790 registered voters were eligible to participate, including 140,370 newly registered voters across the state’s 326 wards.
With about 98.8 per cent of Permanent Voter Cards collected, candidates of the major political parties – Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu (All Progressives Congress), Dr George Moghalu (Labour Party), John Nwosu (African Democratic Congress), Jude Ezenwafor (Peoples Democratic Party), and Sir Paul Chukwuma (Young Progressives Party) – are jostling to wrest power from the incumbent, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, who is seeking re-election.
The commission also indicated that 16 political parties fielded candidates for the governorship race, including two women.
INEC confirmed that all 5,718 polling units would open at 8.30am today, with 6,879 BVAS devices configured and backed up, and over 24,000 trained ad hoc staff ready to serve.
INEC officials began distributing sensitive and non-sensitive materials to all local government areas on Thursday.
The exercise, which took place at the Central Bank of Nigeria office in Awka, was supervised by the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Queen Awgu, under heavy security.
Awgu explained that key materials, including the BVAS, Forms EC8A, and Forms EC8B were being transported to registration area centres ahead of the poll.
“The idea is to ensure that the election starts as scheduled; that is the only way the process can go on without delay,” she added.
She urged residents to come out en masse to exercise their franchise, rather than staying at home under the assumption that their votes would not count or that their preferred candidate had already won.
Police restrict vehicular movement
On Friday, the Anambra State Police Command announced total restriction of vehicular movement in and out of the state during the election.
The spokesman for the police command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the restriction would take effect from 12am to 6pm.
Ikenga said the restriction applied to all forms of motorised transportation.
The statement read in part, “The decision is aimed at preventing the movement of political thugs and other criminal elements who may attempt to disrupt the electoral process.”
He, however, advised all interstate travellers intending to pass through any part of the state to take alternative routes during the period.
According to him, only persons on essential duties such as designated INEC officials, accredited journalists and election observers, medical personnel, emergency responders and essential services providers would be exempted.
Four INEC National Commissioners in Anambra
Also, the INEC Chairman, Amupitan, during a press conference in Abuja said four National Commissioners were in Anambra to personally supervise the election, supported by 10 Resident Electoral Commissioners specially deployed from across the country.
Amupitan noted that registered voters in the six registration areas facing some security challenges in Ihiala LGA would vote safely and securely at the council secretariat, protected by security agencies.
“Anyone attempting violence, vote-buying, intimidation, or ballot interference will face swift, lawful consequences,” he stated.
The Commissioner of Police in charge of the Anambra election, Abayomi Shogunle, disclosed that the number of security personnel deployed for the poll had been increased from 45,000 to 55,000 officers.
According to Shogunle, the measure is intended to ensure adequate security across the state and protect both voters and electoral officials during the exercise.
Meanwhile, the INEC headquarters in Anambra State has been barricaded by security agencies ahead of today’s election.
On Friday morning, hundreds of security personnel were seen on the premises and around the office, while armoured personnel carriers were used to block some strategic locations across Ekwueme Square in Awka, where the office of INEC is situated.
The security personnel prevented vehicles from moving inwards Ekwueme Square as people, including motorists, parked their vehicles and trekked across the road to access their destination.
This development, it was gathered, was as a result of the movement of sensitive and non-sensitive materials as well as the ongoing deployment of electoral officials, including ad hoc staff.
Several election monitoring groups have set up situation rooms in Anambra State ahead of today’s governorship election.
This is in addition to the police situation rooms headed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ikenga.
The groups include Centre for Transparency Advocacy and Centre for Democracy and Development.
CTA says it deployed 50 observers who will send in real-time reports.
Also, CDD-West Africa said it trained and accredited 178 observers in the 21 local government areas of the state.
This is just as the police authorities in Abuja deployed the Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG Benjamin Okolo as the supervisory officer for all security personnel deployed for the election.
The Publicity Secretary of the APC in the state, Okelo Madukaife, expressed confidence in INEC to conduct the election, despite flashpoints he said were being progressively addressed.
Madukaife urged INEC to play by the rules and advised security operatives not to intimidate, harass or molest the electorate.
He said, “Other challenges are the influx of unprofessional hands and the involvement of non-state actors in the security architecture of Anambra State. These are huge concerns.
“There was involvement of non-state actors during the Anambra South Senatorial by-election in August and the whole world watched as the incumbent governor deployed non-state actors without a role recognised by the Electoral Act into the election to wreak havoc, facilitate intimidation, harassment and vote buying.
“The APC has done what the law allows it to do and our campaign was issue-based. As a party, I can confirm that we are ready. Our fear is that the governor should not use non-state actors to intimidate and harass voters.”
Also, the Publicity Secretary of APGA, Mazi Ejimofor Opara, called for increased voter participation, adding that as a party, it was targeting the one million vote mark from the 2.8 million registered voters.
He said, “There is no tension in the air, our party is ready. At least we are targeting the one million vote mark.
“In terms of security, there is more than enough security to stem any kind of upset. If you move around town, you will see heavy presence of policemen and other sister agencies.
“President Bola Tinubu is a democrat; there should be no display of federal might. Anambra people will vote and their votes will count. At the end of the day, it will be an APGA day.”