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Raymond Ozoji, Awka
The 30 elected members of the Anambra state house of assembly on Thursday received their certificates of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following their victory at the just concluded State House of Assembly Election held on Saturday 9th March, 2019.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Dr. Nkwachukwu Orji, who issued the certificate to the elected assembly members at Pavilion arena, headquarters of the commission in Awka, said the official issuance of the certificates to the elected state house of assembly members concluded all the electoral activities in Anambra state.
He commended Anambra state as one of the most peaceful state in Nigeria where election was held in a peacefully manner. “I didn’t see or hear anything adverse in Anambra during the election. Anambra state is one of the most peaceful states where election was conducted peacefully,” he noted.
He promised that INEC would continue to improve the electoral process in the state and appealed to elected lawmakers to work assiduously to deliver the dividends of democracy to all irrespective of party affiliations.
The INEC National Commissioner in charge of Anambra, Enugu and Benue, Mr. Festus Okoye, in his remark during the presentation ceremony, said the commission was deeply concerned about the illegal and illicit
approaches being made by some political parties and their candidates to collation officers, presiding officers, supervisory presiding officers and other categories of ad-hoc staff recruited by the commission for the purposes of conducting elections. Some of these officers, he added, were recruited in strict confidentiality and yet desperate politicians went to a great length to find them and corrupt them which is bad.
He also said the commission was worried at the rate which ad-hoc staff of the commission were harassed, maimed and killed in the performance of their duties. According to him, we are fast approaching a point where parents and guardians will not be willing to release their sons and daughters doing their national youth service to participate in the electoral process. And that the commission will also once again
approach the National Assembly and canvass for the early passage of the Electoral Offences Commission Bill in order to stem impunity in the electoral process by making sure that those who deliberately and
maliciously corrupt the electoral process are punished in accordance with the law.
In their separate remarks, the member representing Anambra East state
constituency, Hon. Obinna Chris Emeneka, (APGA); the member representing Ihiala one state constituency, Barrister Chidi Livinus
Udemadu (APGA) and his Nnewi South two constituency counterpart, Hon. Johnbosco Akaegbobi (PDP), thanked the security, media, politicians and religious leaders for working assiduously during the campaigns and election period.
They said in Anambra, lawmakers were elected to serve people not to rule them. The seventh Assembly in Anambra state will be made up of 24 APGA lawmakers and six PDP members for a constitutional period of four years.
