Ahead of weekend’s conduct of the Anambra off-season governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said its preparation remains top-notch for the exercise.

The Commission’s Director of Voters Education and Publicity, Victoria Messi, stated this in a telephone interview with the Nigerian Tribune on Sunday.

Mrs. Messi revealed that sensitive materials already in custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria will be moved to all relevant designated locations this week.

She said: “Sensitive materials will be moved from the Central Bank of Nigeria this week.”

The INEC national chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, at a recent briefing on update on logistics for the election, disclosed that non-sensitive materials have been moved to the different local government areas in the South-East state.

Speaking on security challenges, the Director of Voters Education and Publicity, identified Ihiala as top on the list of hotspots in Anambra but noted that security agencies were equal to the task.

“Ihiala remains an area of concern. There are other areas but that place stands out. The Commissioner of Police in the state has given us assurance that his men are working round the clock to guarantee security of lives during and after the election,” she stated.

Also speaking at the weekend during a visit to INEC’s state office in Awka, ahead of the stakeholders’ meeting coming up on Monday, the chairman restated his commitment to free, fair, credible elections.

He said: “Our responsibility is to the people of this nation. We are fully prepared to deliver an election that is fair, credible, and reflective of the people’s will.

In an allusion to indictment of INEC by certain opposition figures, he cautioned against what he described as “attempts by vested interests to discredit the process,” stressing that INEC remained focused and undeterred in the discharge of its constitutional mandate.

During the visit, the chairman issued a firm directive that all election materials must arrive at the polling units by 7:00am; polling must commence at 8:30am without delay; collation must take place in the presence of party agents and collated results must align precisely with BVAS records.

Amupitan reiterated that strong security arrangements had been instituted to safeguard personnel, voters, and materials throughout the process.

With these comprehensive assurances, INEC, according to the chairman, has sent a strong signal of its operational capacity, vigilance, and unwavering commitment to protecting the integrity of the electoral process in Anambra State.

Meanwhile, former Vice president and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has tasked INEC chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, to use the election in Anambra State to prove to the world that the electoral umpire has “turned a new page, and that the integrity of our election would not be sacrificed for the satisfaction of the ruling party”.

Atiku gave the charge in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday.

The former presidential candidate also appealed to the electorate in the southeast state to cast their ballots for the ADC candidate, “Nwosu Chima John and Nwobu Geoffrey Ndubisi to lead Anambra State to a new era of prosperity and economic stability.” (Nigerian Tribune)