Anambra election: Accreditation delayed

 

Accreditation @ Agulu Ward 2 ,Polling Unit 19, at Umudim Akasi, Agulu . Photo: Austine Avwode

Accreditation has not begun at various polling units in Anambra state.
The exercise, which ought to begin by 8am, was yet to start in most places visited as at 9am.
For instance, at a voting unit in Ogbankwa, in Awka South Local Government Area, where there are 20 wards, voters were patiently waiting for voting materials to arrive.
At Unit 26 in Ward 3, Ezinano, Agulu LGA, accreditation begun at about 9.30am.
About nine persons had been accredited when The Nation visited there.
Security remained tight at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Awka.
The Police Counter Terrorism Unit teams and the Special Protection Unit kept watch.
INEC Public Relations Officer Frank Egbo said there had not been reports of any major challenges from ad-hoc staff.


“The information reaching us is that accreditation has begun in various polling units,” he said.
He also disclosed that INEC has directed that no Presiding Officer will attend to more than 300 voters in a unit.
Where there are more than 300 voters, the unit will be split into two or more, to be manned by additional officers, he said.
Egbo said he was not aware of reports that election materials were snatched at Orumba while being transported there.
“I’m not aware of it,” he said.