The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN), has assured Nigerians that the Commission is set for the November 8, 2025, Anambra State governorship election.
Speaking at the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) meeting at INEC Headquarters, Abuja, on Tuesday, Prof. Amupitan stated that a deep assessment of readiness had been done in the whole state, and logistics and security were firmly in place for an unhindered poll.
He made known that 24,000 personnel would be deployed in the 5,718 polling stations, where results would be collated at 326 wards, 21 local government areas, and the State Collation Centre in Awka. However, he stated that voting would not take place in two of the polling stations because there were no voters registered.
Amupitan also revealed an extension of the exercise of collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in the state from Wednesday, October 29, to Sunday, November 2, following a report that only 63.9 percent of the voters on the register had collected their cards.
“We have mobilized 200 buses and 83 boats to ensure seamless movement of election officials and materials,” he explained, while advising against vote buying and requesting security agencies to thwart electoral malpractice.
National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the Director of Internal Security, Mr. Hassan Y. Abdullahi, gave the federal government an assurance of a pledge to ensuring a peaceful election. In his words, security personnel would be strategically deployed to forestall any attempt by “destructive elements or desperate politicians” to sabotage the process.
He also called on political parties and their candidates to propagate peace and eschew violence, and reassured citizens that the government had put in place strengthened surveillance, intelligence, and quick response measures in Anambra State.
The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, also assured that the corps members deployed to the election will be accorded protection and they will get full welfare attention. He praised them as “vibrant, patriotic, and non-partisan Nigerians” whose contribution makes elections credible.
Meanwhile, Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun similarly declared the deployment of 45,000 police men to Anambra State for the election. In presenting the IGP, Commissioner of Police Abayomi Shogunle said that pre-election deployments began November 1, with tactical teams conducting clearance operations aimed at eliminating threats and establishing order.
Egbetokun insisted that only the duly accredited security institutions of ICCES, such as the Police, DSS, NSCDC, and the military, would be deployed in election duties with categorical warning that vigilantes would not be deployed.
He promised that there would be movement restriction on Election Day, with each point of entry and exit in the state manned to the letter. “We are determined to have a peaceful and credible election,” the police chief asserted.
