INEC PLEDGES TRANSPARENT GUBER POLL IN ANAMBRA STATE
REPORTER: NDU NWANNAH
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has put necessary measures in place to conduct a hitch free Governorship Election in Anambra State this Saturday.
The Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu who stated this during an Election Stakeholders’ Meeting at the Dora Akunyili Women’s Development Centre, Awka, noted that Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, (BVAS) would be deployed during the poll.
Professor Yakubu explained that with the deployment of BVAS, the use of incidence forms had been abolished by the commission.
Professor Yakubu, while announcing that BVAS was used in replacing Card Readers, explained that the system allows only authenticated voters to cast their votes, stressing that the initiative would help in preventing identity theft.
He informed that all non- sensitive materials for the election had been deployed to the 21 Local Government Areas of the state, while the sensitive materials were already at CBN Awka for distribution.
Professor Yakubu stressed that the electoral materials had unique invisible features and were serialized according to Local Government Areas to secure the items.
According to the INEC Chairman, 86 of the 5,720 polling units in the area recorded zero voters, and as a result, no election would be conducted in them.
The Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, INEC, Mr. Festus Okoye, assured the stakeholders of the commission’s determination to conduct a transparent poll.
In a welcome address, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Anambra State, Dr. Nkwachukwu Orji, explained that the commission had completed 12 of 14 items in its schedule for the election.
Dr. Orji appreciated the support of INEC Headquarters Abuja in fixing and replacing gadgets, which were destroyed when hoodlums attacked its State Office in Awka.
The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Usman Alkali Baba, who attended the forum, assured of the readiness of security agencies to confront threats that might undermine the process.
Mr. Baba affirmed that the massive deployment of security personnel in the area was to strengthen the conduct of the election, while urging political parties to embrace democratic norms during the poll.
The Chairman of PDP in Anambra State, Chief Ndubuisi Nwobu, commended INEC for its preparedness and urged for complete provision of tags to party agents, while the APC Chairman, Chief Basil Ejidike, expressed happiness with arrangements made by the commission to ensure a successful election.
Chairman of Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) in Anambra State, Mr. Ugochukwu Okeke, who was also happy with arrangements put in place by INEC, called for measures to offer them easy access to polling units.