As the Anambra State governorship election enters the results collation stage, the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (Situation Room) has tasked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure every vote counts.

The Situation Room, in an Interim Statement on the election made available to newsmen in Akwa on Saturday, urged INEC to effectively manage the vote tabulation and result collation processes.

The CSO, while vowing to “follow up the process till conclusion of the election and declaration of results,” adjudged the election as relatively peaceful but with some shortcomings.

Observation

The Situation Room expressed concern that some polling units (PUs 015, 012, 013, 004 and 003) located within the RAC centre at Umuike Public Square, Ward 9, Awka South LGA, that do not require transportation failed to setup and did not commence voting until after 9:00am.

READ ALSO:PHOTOS: Low Turnout, Voter Apathy Mar Anambra Guber

The Situation Room, while stating that there was slow turnout of voters in several Polling Units (PUs), voting trading was the order of the day.

According to the Situation Room, though the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was reported to have performed efficiently with a one-minute average turnaround time for accreditation of a voter in majority of the polling units, and poll officials displaying a somewhat good knowledge of the voting process, voting was delayed till 10:30am in PU 015 All Hallow Seminary School in Ward 9 of Onitsha North LGA due to malfunctioning of the deployed BVAS.

Situation Room said there was “no reports of any major violent incidents in this election except in PUs 001, 002 and 003 in Ward 2 of Anaocha LGA where some thugs dressed in INEC vest disrupted the voting process and denied supporters of some political parties’ access to the polling unit in favour of another party. This was immediately escalated to the Nigeria Police.”

The November 8 Anambra State governorship election has been marred by low voters turn and apathy.

In Akwa, the state capital,
some tricycle riders were also seen going about their normal businesses, just as some business owners opened their shops for businesses.

In the state capital, accreditation of voters did not start in many polling units visited by our correspondent until about 9:00am.

At Polling Unit 009, Ward 06, Akwa South Local Government Area, our correspondent observed that accreditation started at about a few minutes past 9:00am with low turnout.

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At Polling Unit 011, Ward 06, Akwa II, Akwa South Local Government Area, the Presiding Officer, Chiamaka Agbakoba,
told our correspondent that she started accreditation at about 9:15 am because “we were waiting for party agents to arrive, and more so there were not many voters on the ground.”

Salas Okosun, Presiding Officer, Polling Unit 018, Ward 06, Udeozo Primary School, Akwa South, said “we started accreditation exactly 9:am but voters have not been coming. As you can see, no one to capture, so we are still waiting, once it’s 2:30pm, we are done.”

Olusola Abdulsalam, Presiding Officer, Polling 017, Ward 06, Akwa II, Akwa South, said “as at 10:08, we have captured 15 voters. They have been coming out little by little.”

READ ALSO: Anambra Decides: CDD Advocates Neutrality, Seamless Process; Says Litmus Test For Amupitan

Presiding Officer, Polling Unit 023, Ward 06, Akwa II, Akwa South Local Government Area, Mercy Ezeah, said “we have captured 23 voters as at 10:37am, out of the total of 178 voters we are expecting.”

The narrative was however different in Polling Unit 007, Ward 05, as voters turned out to cast their ballots at the unit.

Speaking to our correspondent, a voter, Anene Chukwudezie, lamented that he was disenfranchised because INEC did not print his Permanent Voter Card.

He said: “I cannot vote for the candidate of my choice because INEC did not print my PVC. And it is not me alone, over 30% of voters in Ward 04, Akwa South have this same problem, with my findings, so they cannot vote. And this is why some of our people decide to sit at home.”

The deputy governor of Edo state, Rt. Hon. Dennis Idahosa says Governor Monday Okpebholo’s performance within his first year in office surpasses some state governors achievements in eight years of office.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Friday Aghedo, the deputy governor was quoted to have said this when he played host to delegation of Esan Daughters Development Initiative of Edo State in his office on Thursday.

He assured that Okpebholo’s administration has just taken off, adding that with the support of the people, Edo will record remarkable achievements in few months to come.

Idahosa noted that with his SHINE Agenda, Okpebholo is poised to entrench good governance across the nook and cranny of the state.

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He particularly noted that Okpebholo policies are people centric.

While noting that the unity of the people remains the governor’s primary concern, Idahosa reeled out names of Esan extraction who made impact on Esan land and Edo State in general.

According to him, “Distinguished Senator Monday Okpebholo, to me, is God’s gift to Esan land,” and, “the entire Edo State people are happy with him.”

The President, Esan Daughters Development Initiative of Edo State, Mrs. Kate Osaro commended Idahosa for his complementary role to Okpebholo.

According to her, their complementary roles have ensured peace reign in the state and solicited for its sustainability.

READ ALSO:Okpebholo’s Eight-year Tenure Non-negotiable, Says Commissioner

In related vein, Idahosa received and congratulated Management, Staff and Students of “Our Lady of Mercy Nursery and Basic School” on their forthcoming school’s 50th anniversary.

He appreciated the school’s management for helping to shape and impact the lives of students and society.

He deemed it an honour having the organizing committee lead pupils of the school to his office.

He encouraged them (Pupils) to aspire to greater heights by participating in politics to becoming future governors and deputy governors of the state.”

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Speaking earlier on behalf of the school’s Golden Jubilee Organizing
Committee, Amb. Philip Ogbebor
said, “we are grateful for the role that the Edo State Government has played in supporting education in the state.

“Your leadership and commitment to enhancing the educational sector have not gone unnoticed, and we recognize the significant strides being made under your administration.

“We believe that education is the key to unlocking a brighter future for our children, and we are pleased to be part of that effort in the state.”