Anambra election: INEC insists on November 18

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that the November 18th date for the governorship poll in Anambra remains sacrosanct.
The commission said it would not allow any change in the date as any postponement would distort plans already made by the commission and may come with a huge cost implication.

The Anambra State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Nwachukwu Orji stated this Wednesday in a meeting with the executive members of Inter-party Advisory Council (IPAC) at the secretariat of the commission in Awka.
“We want the election to hold as scheduled. We have 58 days to the election and we are on top of the preparations. There would not be any need for postponement.
“Any attempt to shift the date would be waste of resources. We need to conclude the election as scheduled so as to focus on the 2019 general elections.” he said.
Congratulating the body for the peaceful conduct of its elections that saw the re-election of its chairman, Orji also commended the role it played towards the successful conduct of the Continuous Voter Registration Exercise, which he described as exceptional in the history of the state.

He, however, appealed to the IPAC leadership to mobilize the gubernatorial candidates of their various political parties to ensure quick submission of their profiles and manifestoes to enable the commission publish them for effective voter education.
“I learnt you are organizing an election debate for all the registered political parties. All these processes are mportant as it helps to shift campaign from hate speeches and calumny to issue based campaign.” he added.
Chairman of IPAC in the state, Prince Batho Igwedibia, while reacting noted that ad-hoc staff recruited by the commission had always been a major source of concern during election in the country.