The Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) says the Sept. 21 date for Local Government Elections in Enugu State remains sacrosanct, all things being equal.
The Chairman of ENSIEC, Prof. Christian Ngwu, told newsmen on Sunday in Enugu that all arrangements had been concluded for hitch-free council polls into chairmanship and councillorship positions in the state.
Ngwu noted that those thinking that the Sept. 21 date might be moved or rescheduled were not reasoning with realities on ground.
According to him, the commission is religiously following its timetable and got the necessary financial support from the state government to ensure “a resounding successful polls”.
He said that the commission had made water-tight arrangement for logistics in terms of adequate vehicles to move both electoral materials and officials.
The chairman said, “For us in the commission, the Sept. 21 date remains sacrosanct; if nothing beyond the capacity or control of the commission happens.
“ENSIEC is seriously in touch with the security agencies and other organisations that will provide support services before, during and after the elections proper.
“We are leaving no stone un-turned in ensuring proactive and adequate security for electoral materials, officials and the voters on the election day.
“We are collaborating with an organisation for a three-day train-the-trainers workshop for 50 major electoral officials; which include the Electoral Officers (EOs), commission’s unit heads and other staff.
“Those trained in the train-the-trainer workshop will soon train the ad-hoc electoral staff the commission had concluded arrangement to recruit at all council areas.”
Ngwu noted that the commission had gone far in the execution of its electoral timetable and had enjoyed robust compliance from stakeholders in the electoral process.
He said that over 10 political parties had shown interest to participate in the election, adding that they had been following the electoral timetable all this while.
The elections would fill 17 Chairmanship and 260 ward councillorship seats in Enugu State.
