Ebonyi LG Polls: Commission, Stakeholders Bicker Over Free, Fair Election

Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission ( EBSIEC) and governmental stakeholders successful the authorities person disagreed implicit the electoral body’s committedness to conducting free, fair, and credible polls up of adjacent year’s section authorities predetermination successful the state.

The committee said that it volition behaviour a credible, transparent, free, and just predetermination successful August 2026, successful tandem with the enabling laws.

The commission’s chairman, Chief Patrick Enyi, gave the assurance during a stakeholder engagement gathering held astatine its office successful Abakaliki.

He said that they are moving circular the timepiece to guarantee that a promising turning constituent successful the affairs of the committee is achieved, adding that the essence of the stakeholder engagement is to unveil the timetable and docket of activities and besides interact with stakeholders connected challenges and stimulating circumstances that volition marque the electoral process hitch-free and seamless.

Chief Enyi noted that Governor Francis Nwifuru has fixed them the clime and latitude to discharge their duties without fearfulness oregon favour, assuring that EBSIEC is committed to serving the involvement of the authorities with profound responsibility.

Reacting, Comrade Eze Oko Splendour, Labour Party 2023 governorship campaigner successful the authorities said, “Local authorities predetermination successful Ebonyi State volition ne'er beryllium escaped and just arsenic acold arsenic EBSIEC president is appointed by the authorities governor.

“EBSIEC is not autarkic from the State Government due to the fact that nary EBSIEC Chairman tin person the courageousness to enactment against the Governor that appointed him oregon her.

“Just similar the saying goes, ‘he who pays the piper dictates the tune.’ The Governor appoints and pays EBSIEC Chairman and his staff, truthful they can’t beryllium independent. The LGA predetermination is conscionable for formality’s sake. There is thing similar transparency successful the behaviour of specified an election.

“LGA predetermination tin lone amended if INEC takes implicit the behaviour of the election.”

A Chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP successful the State, Chief Innocent Eze maintained that the forthcoming section authorities predetermination successful the authorities volition beryllium worse than the erstwhile elections arsenic the ruling APC successful the authorities is already moving towards making the authorities a one-party state.

The EBSIEC president should halt deceiving enactment leaders that helium is going to behaviour a free, fair, and credible predetermination erstwhile the APC has refused to let different governmental parties to beryllium successful the State. “The ruling is intimidating and muscling the absorption enactment and making definite that the State becomes a one-party State, truthful is the EBSIEC Chairman antithetic from them?

“They should bash their happening but fto them hole for Nigerians travel 2027. They are going to look the aggravated and bare youths of Ebonyi State and Nigerians successful the forthcoming wide election. It’s not going to concern arsenic usual.”

Other stakeholders who spoke astatine the gathering included the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC president Prof. Oguguo Egwu, and IPAC president Alhaji Nabir Nwaze. Nwaze commended the contiguous enactment of EBSIEC for including each governmental parties and urged them to measurement down the lawsuit to the grassroots.

The tenure of the medication of the 13 section authorities chairmen and counsellors is expected to expire 31st August 2026.