INEC declares Anambra 99% ready for November 8 governorship election

With less than two weeks to the Anambra Governorship Election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the state “99% ready,” following a comprehensive readiness tour across all 21 local government areas.

A high-level INEC delegation, led by National Commissioner for Election Planning and Monitoring, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, concluded the weeklong tour on Sunday, affirming that all operational, security, and logistical elements were in place for the November 8 polls.

During the visit, the delegation inspected batching and deployment of non-sensitive materials, monitored Permanent Voter Card (PVC) distribution, and observed a mock accreditation exercise where the upgraded Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was successfully tested.

Prof. Gumus assured voters that INEC had made adequate preparations to ensure a seamless process.

“Our visit has shown that Anambra is ready, INEC is ready, and the people are ready,” she said. “We look forward to delivering an election that will reflect the true will of the electorate.”

Other members of the delegation — Mr. Sam Olumekun mni, Dr. Kenneth Ukeagu, and Dr. Baba Bila — held extensive meetings with Resident Electoral Commissioner Dr. Queen Elizabeth Agwu, transport union leaders, and security chiefs under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).

Security agencies, including the Police, DSS, NSCDC, and the military, assured of robust deployment to ensure peaceful and credible polls.

“Our goal is simple — peaceful, credible elections across all polling units,” the security chiefs affirmed.

Dr. Agwu lauded the synergy among security agencies, saying it had given the Commission confidence to conduct the election without fear.

“We enter this election with a peaceful state of mind.

“The cooperation we see today gives us confidence that materials, personnel, and voters will move freely and safely,” she said.

INEC’s final preparations will focus on the deployment of staff and sensitive materials to various registration area centers ahead of election day.