The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it is fully prepared for the governorship and state assembly polls, as well as the rescheduled Enugu East Senatorial Zone poll, all scheduled for March 18 in Enugu State. In a news conference held on Wednesday, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Enugu State, Dr Chukwuemeka Chukwu, said that INEC officials had inspected sensitive materials, which had arrived from the commission’s national headquarters and were now safely stored at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Enugu.
On Thursday, March 16, INEC will begin moving sensitive materials to its local government area offices, under the supervision of political party representatives, media personnel and security personnel. The following day, these materials will be taken from the local government area offices to the various Registration Area Centres (RACs), again in the presence of political party representatives, media and security personnel.
Chukwu noted that the commission had completed the reconfiguring of 4,145 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines for the polls, which would be deployed on the election day alongside other sensitive materials. He also received assurances from security agencies of their readiness and proactive deployment of personnel for the election.
Chukwu also met with transport union leaders, who assured the commission of hitch-free movement of electoral materials. He added that INEC would conclude retraining and refresher training for ad-hoc staff by Friday morning, ahead of posting them to their assigned positions.
On the day of the election, INEC will operate in 4,145 polling units across 260 registration areas and 17 local government areas of the state. Elections will be held for the governorship, 24 state constituency offices and the rescheduled Enugu East Senatorial Zone due to the death of one of the candidates in the earlier election on February 22.
Chukwu emphasised that the commission was committed to conducting a peaceful, hitch-free, credible and fair election, and called on voters to play their part in ensuring this. “INEC Enugu State calls on all eligible voters to come out and vote on Saturday, March 18, for the candidates and political parties of their choice,” he said.