ABUJA — The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday, said it had concluded plans to conduct a gubernatorial election in Anambra State that will be the best ever conducted in Nigeria.
To actualize the goal, the commission said it would use Nigerian Air Force jets to convey sensitive election materials to most of the local governments in the state, especially Anambra West, which it described as a very difficult and peculiar terrain similar to the Niger Delta.
In a paper he presented at the election situation room organised in Abuja by a coalition of civil society organisations, led by Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, PLAC, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Anambra State, Professor C.E Onukaogu, disclosed that INEC had extended the training period of all the ad-hoc personnel it intended to engage for the gubernatorial poll from two to five days.
He said: “We have resolved that the training would end at least 10 days before the election. This will enable us to deploy the trainees at least four days before the election.”
“One of the challenges we faced in the past is that many ad-hoc staff never knew their place of assignment until the morning of the election. This we have resolved to put a stop to.”
The commissioner, who emphasized the need for politicians in Anambra State to eschew politics of bitterness and rancour capable of fuelling insecurity in the state, stressed that the electoral body, in line with its resolve to use the November 16 gubernatorial poll to signal the dawn of a new era in election management in Nigeria, had entered into partnership with both the police and the Navy.
He said: “We have by academic, professional, national and international exposure and interactions acquired the basic knowledge, attitudes, and skills for conducting the November 16, 2013 gubernatorial election, much better than we were when we conducted the 2011 general elections.
“We are therefore confident that given our knowledge, attitudes and skills, we are adequately positioned to conduct the gubernatorial election that will be devoid of malpractices, errors and misconduct.
“Available statistics from the operations department (INEC Anambra) show that the generality of the electorate in Anambra State are not keen to vote. For instance, in 2011 elections, only 28.8 percent of the registered persons voted. This is because while 1,708, 014 people registered; only 492, 750 votes were cast.”
“Similarly, in the Federal constituency election, out of the 746, 230 registered voters, only 244, 934 votes were cast. In other words, only 31.2 percent of the registered voters voted in the federal constituency election. Out of the 607, 415 registered voters in Anambra North Senatorial zone, only 162, 481 votes were cast. That is to say only 26.7 percent registered voters voted.
“In the Anambra Central Senatorial Zone, only 621, 992 people registered to vote. However only 194, 485 persons voted. That is to say only 31.3 percent voted. In the Anambra South Senatorial Zone, out of the 532, 905 registered voters only 163, 999 persons voted. In other words, only 30.8 percent of registered voters voted during the election.
“This trend must be halted through an appropriate voter education programme if the generality of the people of Anambra State are to begin to participate actively in elections by casting their votes. A number of factors are responsible for the apathy of the electorate in Anambra State.
“The insecurity which bedevils elections in Nigeria has made the electorate to develop apathy to elections. The attitudes of politicians also make the electorate in Anambra State to be pathetic towards elections.
“Going by the timeline we have set for the elections, the non-sensitive materials will be made available to the state office latest by October 30. Thus by November 3, all the non-sensitive materials would be moved to the local government offices and shared according to the Registration Area Centres, RAC, in the various local governments by November 5.
“Thus it will be possible for us to detect any shortfall or aberrations regarding the allocation of the non-sensitive materials in respect of units that make up a RAC. We have agreed that sensitive materials will be at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Awka, on time as well. Similarly, all the sensitive and non-sensitive materials will get to the state and local government offices in time.
“We hope to conduct a gubernatorial election in Anambra State that will be the best ever conducted in Nigeria. This election we believe will signal the dawn of a new era in the election management in this country. We will by the grace of God show that at long last regarding election management in the country the country, the beautiful ones have been born.”
On his part, the Executive Director of PLAC, Mr Clement Nwankwo, expressed the determination of civil society groups in the country not only to monitor the election proper but also closely observe all the pre and post election affairs in Anambra State.
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