Anambra Guber: Sensitive Materials To Bear Top Security Features -Jega

Posted by African Examiner Anambra Election, Featured, Ignatius Okpara, Latest Headlines, News Wednesday, November 13th, 2013

… As IGP Warns Anambra Politicians Against Misconduct

Ignatius Okpara, Enugu

Professor Attahiru Jega, National Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, Wednesday in Awka hinted that all sensitive materials to be used for conduct of the Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Anambra state have been modified with security features.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega

The INEC boss, explained that the modification was done with a view to achieving a credible polls as an improvement on other elections the commission had organised in the past.

He disclosed that ballot papers now have security features with serial numbers in all the polling units, just the result sheets would be given out to the electoral officers together with ballot papers unlike the previous practice where result sheets arrived later at the polling units latter in the day and sometimes found missing.

In a similar development, the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mohammed

Abubakar same Tuesday in Awka disclosed that for effective security operation for the election, the security formations will be decentralised into the three senatorial zones, each to be headed by a commissioner of police.

The police helmsman, said about 120 mobile policemen will be added to the regular policemen in each of the three senatorial zones, adding that both the Army, Airforce, and Naval detachments would join the large force of the police to keep peace on the November 16 polls.

The INEC and police leaders, spoke in Awka, the Anambra state capital, during a stakeholders forum ahead of the governorship election on Saturday.

The Nigerian chief electoral officer however, refuted allegation that his commission created extra polling booths for the election, explaining that what happened was that polling centres with greater number of voters up to 3000 registered voters were broken down into voting points within the same booth.

He noted that the subdivision was to make for easier accreditation and voting so as to meet up with the timing for the election particularly for accreditation that ends by 12pm.

Jega also hinted that the previously faulty Anambra voters register has been corrected with authenticated 1, 784, 536 voters, and advised polling agents to take record of the ballot boxes as all of them are serially numbered.

His word: “All the polling units have good voters register and if your name is not in the register and go there to vote, the police will arrest you. We have done our best to improve on the integrity of the election,

“we identified mistakes and we have corrected them, we therefore plead with stakeholders to please help us conduct credible election. He pleaded.

“Money sharing is an electoral offence and INEC is ready to prosecute the offenders, for now we do not have effective monitor of candidate’s expenditure but for 2015 elections, we will monitor candidates’ expenditure but there has to be solid evidence of financial inducement before INEC can take action.”

The INEC chairman also disclosed that about four ballot centres were discovered in Oyi local government by his commission to have existed inside bushes were human beings did not reside, but that they have relocated the polling booths to Nteje where they are needed.

The Inspector General of Police, MD Abubakar warned that movement will be restricted, adding that candidates and VIPs who use police orderlies would not go to the polling centres with armed security agents just as he warned that such people should not monitor the election but should only come to vote and go back home.

“If you do not have business with the election please remain in your house. Both umbrellas and walking sticks are instruments that can cause harm and are therefore not allowed to be used on that day.

Nigeria needs a change and we are willing to change for the better, trouble makers should please stay away because even the riverside areas of Anambra state will be patrolled by the Navy while the air force will commence air surveillance from two days to the election,” the police chief stated