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Obi seeks credible election, kicks against vote-buying •EU deploys 687 observersunder EU-SDGN programme •Anambra govt declares today work-free EXACTLY 16 days after he assumed office, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, is set for the first acidic main test for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under his leadership tomorrow as voters in Anambra State go to the poll in a governorship election. In his speech at the INEC headquarters in Abuja during his inaugural meeting with directors, shortly after being sworn in by President Bola Tinubu, Amupitan commits to delivering free, fair and credible elections that would reflect the true will of Nigerians. “It is with immense gratitude and a deep sense of responsibility that I stand before you today as your new Chairman. Our mandate is clear – to deliver free, fair and credible elections that reflect the will of the Nigerian people,” he declared. At the signing of a peace accord by political parties fielding candidates in the state capital, Awka, on Tuesday, in tomorrow’s election, the INEC boss reaffirmed the commission’s readiness to deliver a credible, transparent, and peaceful election. “Our responsibility is to the people of this nation. We are fully prepared to deliver an election that is fair, credible, and reflective of the people’s will,” he said. Amupitan has also disclosed that 24,000 personnel will be deployed by the commission during the election to be held in 5,720 wards spread across the 21 local government areas of the state. Besides, a total of 60, 000 security personnel drawn from the police, army, Air Force and paramilitary agencies have been mobilised for the purpose of the election. Both the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, have warned that the authorities would deal decisively with anyone or group that tries to disrupt the poll or foment trouble before, during and after the election. EU deploys 687 observers under EU-SDGN programme The European Union has deployed 687 civil society election observers across Anambra State ahead of Saturday’s governorship election, under its EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) programme. Laolu Olawumi, Programme Manager, Democracy, Rule of Law and Gender at the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, in Abuja, said the deployment reflects the EU’s commitment to supporting credible, peaceful, and inclusive elections in Nigeria. The EU-SDGN is an EU-funded, civil society-led initiative working to promote credible, inclusive, and peaceful elections across Nigeria, with partners advancing peace-building, media professionalism, women’s political participation, data-driven observation, and disability-inclusive electoral processes. According to him, the EU-SDGN programme is enabling its civil society partners to monitor the poll, strengthen peacebuilding, advance disability and gender inclusion, counter misinformation, and reinforce public confidence in the process. He disclosed that seven of the programme’s 16 implementing partners: The Kukah Centre, Yiaga Africa, International Press Centre (IPC), Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), Nigeria Women Trust Fund (NWTF), ElectHER, and TAF Africa, are already operating in the state from a Unified Election Observation Hub designed to ensure coherence, message alignment, and shared visibility. “A key feature of this unified deployment is that each partner contributes its expertise,” Olawumi explained. “The findings are analysed and compiled into a comprehensive report that will be made available to the public and all stakeholders.” He noted that the observers are spread across various thematic clusters, including election integrity and results verification; disability inclusion with trained observers and sign language interpreters; gender participation; media and misinformation tracking; peacebuilding; conflict prevention; and logistics monitoring, including the movement of sensitive materials. “This is one of the most extensive civil society-led observer deployments ever recorded for a state election in Nigeria,” he said. “When the evidence from all clusters is merged, it offers a fuller and verifiable picture of the election that no single organisation could produce alone.” Earlier in the week, the EU-SDGN programme supported the signing of the Anambra Election Peace Accord, which brought together all candidates and political parties. Olawumi said the accord should guide candidates’ conduct throughout the process. “The Peace Accord is not the conclusion but the beginning of responsibility,” he stressed. “Candidates must not only sign for peace but act peacefully and respect the will of the voters.” The EU-SDGN also released a Joint Pre-Election Assessment Report analysing the political climate, security risks, media environment, and levels of gender and disability inclusion. The report offered 66 recommendations to strengthen electoral credibility, voter access, and institutional preparedness. Obi seeks credible election, kicks against vote-buying Former governor of Anambra, Mr Peter Obi, has urged the INEC, the national electoral umpire, to ensure a credible governorship election in the state on Saturday. Obi made the call on Wednesday while speaking with newsmen after a visit to the College of Nursing, Adazi Nnukwu, in Anaocha Local Government Area (LGA). He also visited the University on the Niger Teaching Hospital, Iyienu, Ogidi, in Idemili North LGA. The 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate advised against vote-buying or other acts capable of compromising the outcome of the exercise. He described the gubernatorial candidates as his friends whom he respects, but noted that his loyalty remained with his party’s candidate, Dr George Moghalu. “All those involved in the exercise, in one way or another, are my friends. I have respect for all of them. “But as a member of the Labour Party, I’m supporting my party’s candidate, though not to the extent of vote buying or any other malpractice. “Let everyone vote according to their conscience. All I want is a free, fair, and credible election,” he said. Reacting to the issue of state creation, Obi described the plan as unnecessary, stressing that what Nigeria needs is to function effectively as a nation. “Creation of states is not our problem. We need to make Nigeria work first, not keep creating more states, ministries, and other structures,” he said. YIAGA highlights possible security threats in six council areas An election observing group, YIAGA Africa, has expressed concerns over possible security threats in six local government areas ahead of the Anambra State governorship election holding on Saturday. The council areas, according to Dr Asmau Maikudi, chairperson of the 2025 Anambra election mission, Yiaga Africa, who stated this in a press statement in Awka, on Wednesday, during a press conference, include Orumba North, Orumba South, Ogbaru, Ihiala, Nnewi South and Aguata. She said Yiaga Africa observed in its engagement across the 21 local government areas that a significant number of young people within the voting aged were disinterested in registering as voters or participating in the election, given this trend, and Anambra’s historical record of low voter turnout, there are serious concerns that the 2025 governorship election may witnessed turnout rates below 20 percent further weakening electoral legitimacy. According to her, Yiaga Africa will deployed a total of 250 stationary observers to a representative statistical sample of 250 polling units and 22 mobile observers in the 21 local government areas of the State, to enable the group to provide timely and accurate information on the conduct of accreditation, voting and counting, as well as to independently verify the official results for the election as announced by INEC, if the announced results reflect the ballots cast at polling units, we will confirm the outcome. Anambra govt declares today work-free The Anambra government has declared Friday a work-free day for civil servants ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in the state. This was contained in a statement by Mrs Theodora Igwegbe, the Head of Service(HOS), on Thursday in Awka. Igwegbe said that the work-free day was approved by Governor Chukwuma Soludo to enable civil servants to travel to their respective locations to participate in the election. She said the gesture was to encourage the active participation of the state workforce in the electoral process. According to her, the electoral process is a civic duty and a vital contribution of the civil servants to good governance and democracy.
