14th February, 2019
Dr Nkwachukwu Orji, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Anambra, has assured that the general elections would hold, notwithstanding the Tuesday fire that destroyed 4,695 Smart Card Readers in Awka.
Orji gave the assurance in Awka on Thursday during an interview.
He said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state had taken delivery of Smart Card Readers from other states that would be enough for the conduct of the elections.
While expressing regret about the incident, Orji promised that nothing would alter the Presidential and National Assembly elections as well as the Governorship and House of Assembly polls scheduled for Feb. 16 and March 2, respectively.
Meanwhile, shortage of accreditation materials for journalists and observers has hit the accreditation process.
Journalists who besieged INEC office in Awka for collection of their materials expressed frustration over inability to get the monitoring kits which they applied for more than a week ago.
Media organisations including NAN got one kit each irrespective of the number of editorial staff enlisted to cover the elections across the state.
They feared that they may have a rough time with overzealous security officials if they don’t get properly kitted for the coverage of the elections in Anambra.
Mrs Nneka Eluogu, INEC’s Public Relations Officer, said she did not receive enough kits from the national headquarters.
Eluogu explained that she was distributing available materials.