Barring any last-minute changes, residents of Anambra State will head for the polls to elect a new governor on Saturday.
No fewer than 2,802,790 eligible voters are expected to cast their ballots across 21 local government areas of the South-East state.
The stakes are high in Anambra, regarded as a financial hub in the region and one of the most economically viable states in Nigeria.
Anambra map
The police said movement would be restricted from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Accreditation and voting at 5,718 polling units are expected to begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m.
Sorting and counting of votes at the ward, local, and state collation centres, as well as the announcement of the results, are expected to follow.
Sixteen political parties were cleared for the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Their candidates are Governor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), and John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Also cleared by INEC are George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP), Echezona Oti of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), Ms. Chioma Ifemeludike of the African Action Congress (AAC), Jeff Nweke of Action Alliance (AA), Charles Onyeze of Accord Party (AP), Geoff Onyejegbu of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and Jude Ezenwafor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Others are Chukwudubem Nweke of the Action Peoples Party (APP), Jerry Okeke of the Boot Party (BP), Ndidi Olieh of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Martin Ugwoji of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Vincent Chukwurah of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
INEC said sensitive and non-sensitive materials are ready to be moved to the polling units.
Officials of the Commission arrived at the Central Bank of Nigeria in Awka on Thursday to collect sensitive election materials.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Queen Agwu, supervised the process, which was observed by party agents, journalists, and accredited monitors.
INEC said sensitive and non-sensitive materials are ready to be moved to the polling units.
INEC’s Chairman, Joash Amupitan, assured residents that the Commission will conduct a credible exercise in the state.
This will be Amupitan’s first governorship election since his appointment by President Bola Tinubu in October 2025.
“Voters should therefore expect a significant improvement in Election Day logistics,” the Law professor said during the signing of the Peace Accord by the candidates in the state on Monday.
Insecurity
Among others, insecurity has been a major concern in Anambra, with several reports of killings and abductions.
It is also one of the states where the sit-at-home order by non-state actors is still in force, restricting many residents indoors.
Among the 21 local government areas, many see Ihiala, Nnewi North, Nnewi South, Ogbaru, and Idemili North as prone to violence as the election approaches.
As part of efforts to prevent violence during the election, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, approved the deployment of 45,000 policemen for the exercise.
The police also assured residents of a peaceful exercise across all flashpoints, including Ihiala.
“As we speak, those flashpoints have been secured. Elections will go on peacefully in those places tomorrow,” the Commissioner in charge of election planning, monitoring, and evaluation, CP Abayomi Shogunle, said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday.
“In the last two to three months, some flashpoints were identified, including Ihiala and other border towns with Imo State.
“We carried out clearance operations, arrested several suspects, and recovered the materials they intended to use to disrupt the election,” he added.
Voter Apathy
In the 2021 governorship election, out of the 2,466,638 registered voters in the state, only 253,388 voters were accredited, while 241,523 votes were valid.
Worried by the historical slide in voter participation in Anambra, the electoral umpire appealed to eligible voters to come out en masse to cast their ballot.
“The greatest enemy to Anambra’s democracy is not just external violence but voter apathy,” Amupitan was quoted as saying in a statement on the INEC’s X handle on Thursday.
The police also urged residents to see the massive deployment of security agents for the election as a sign of confidence to vote.
Observer groups believe that the governorship election will be a litmus test for Amupitan.
They also say that the exercise will be a pointer to what is to come in the 2027 general elections.
The first major test is the Anambra election, which is only a few weeks away,” the Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo, said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday.
