No Alternative To Peaceful Guber Polls In Anambra

ONE of the off-season governorship elections in Nigeria, deemed to be a litmus test for the newly appointed Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, is billed to hold in Anambra State in about 48 hours from now.
As expected, stakeholders as the INEC, political parties, security, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), etc, have braced up to the task of ensuring a peaceful exercise during the election scheduled for Saturday, November 8, 2025. During the election, no fewer than 2,802,709 registered voters are expected to cast their votes in the 5,718 polling units of the 21 local government areas of the state.
Besides, 16 political parties made up of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), All Progressives Congress (APC), Young Progressives Party (YPP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Labour Party (LP), Allied People’s Movement (APM), African Action Congress (AAC), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Boot Party (BP), National Rescue Movement (NRM), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) are expected to participate in the election.
Before now, elections in Anambra State have been known to be tension-soaked, as a result of the activities of some non-state actors. In the last governorship election in 2021, there were some violent activities perpetrated by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other criminal elements enforcing the sit-at-home directive and warning that the election would not hold.
However, it was delightful that the outcome of the 2021 election was satisfactory and peaceful due to the government’s insistence that those fomenting trouble would be dealt with, if arrested.
On the contrary, the situation characterising the build-up to Saturday’s election has been calm, with the various political parties campaigning without restrictions or threats from any quarters.
This implies that all stakeholders have braced up for a successful outing. But it is necessary for all those playing major roles in the conduct of the election should leave nothing to chance because it is in the interest of the people and stakeholders that Anambra holds a peaceful election devoid of rancor, threats, and violence.
In pursuit of a laudable process, a major prerequisite to achieving a free, fair, and peaceful election has been recorded with all the contesting political parties signing a peace accord to be of good conduct before, during, and after the election. The event, midwifed by the National Peace Committee (NPC), chaired by Nigeria’s former Head of State, General AbdulsalamiAbubakar (Rtd), and supervised by the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah, is commendable.
Having achieved this goal, the INEC must work towards a credible election to justify the assertion of the new chairman, Prof Amupitan, who said that the electoral body will not go back to the old ways of doing things, describing the election as his first major assignment and pledging to conduct a free, fair, transparent, and peaceful election. To justify this, all electoral materials must be delivered on time, and the voting proper beginning as stipulated.
On their part, the politicians should rein in their supporters, cooperate with security agents and election monitors, and ensure that they are magnanimous in victory at the end of the day.
It is quite assuring that security personnel have taken steps to guarantee security during the exercise. We give kudos to the police for deploying as many as 45,000 policemen, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for supporting with more than 10,000 personnel to man flash points and provide security. Therefore, any individual or group preparing for trouble should expect an equal reward.
In the past, cases of NGOs, CSOs, and other election monitors compromising were recorded. This time in Anambra, all those concerned should focus on delivering a credible election outcome in Anambra.
All eyes are now on the INEC, security agents, and all stakeholders in the Anambra election project to deliver a peaceful governorship election in the state this weekend.