INEC Ready To Conduct Anambra Governorship Election Saturday — Amupitan

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is ready to conduct the 2025 Anambra State governorship election on Saturday, November 8.

The chairman of INEC, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, who gave the assurance at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, expressed the commission’s determination to deliver an election that is credible, inclusive, transparent and efficiently executed.

Amupitan said that with a register of 2,802,790 eligible voters, Anambra State has the number to powerfully shape its own destiny and urged every person in the state to come out and exercise their civic right without fear or favour.

“Following the conclusion of voter registration and a thorough database clean-up, the Commission finalised a register of 2,802,790 voters for this election on September 4th, 2025. Initially, only 63.9% of voters had collected their PVCs.

“To close this gap, INEC extended the PVC collection period from Wednesday, 29th October to Sunday, 2nd November 2025, ensuring collection centres were open across all 326 Registration Areas (Wards).

“I am delighted to share a success story today: that extension has yielded excellent results! The percentage of collected PVCs to registered voters now stands at an impressive 98.80%. This is a significant collection rate for any election in Nigeria, and it sends a clear signal,” he said.

Amupitan said INEC has also partnered with TAFAfrica to approve the deployment of Sign Language Interpreters across polling units in the state.

This, he said, will enable the 3,456 registered voters living with disabilities (PWDs) in Anambra State to fully exercise their civic rights.

Amupitan insisted that all 5,718 polling units must open simultaneously at 8:30 a.m, saying INEC was deploying the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for accurate accreditation and result upload to IReV platform.

“More than 24,000 trained ad hoc personnel are on standby, with 6,879 BVAS devices fully tested, configured, and backed up. Over 3,000 vehicles and 83 boats, supported by security escorts, will guarantee timely movement, particularly to our riverine communities.

“Our Situation Room in Abuja will be monitoring field operations live to ensure rapid response to any challenge. The era of delayed polling unit openings must remain firmly behind us.

“On security, the Nigeria Police Force will deploy 45,000 officers, supported by the NSCDC and other agencies under ICCES. I assure you: Neutrality is guaranteed. Impunity will not be tolerated.

“To demonstrate our unwavering commitment to flawless delivery, four National Commissioners have remained in Anambra to personally supervise the election, supported by ten Resident Electoral Commissioners specially deployed from across the country,” Amupitan said.

He assured registered voters in the six Registration Areas (RAs) facing some security challenges in Ihiala local government area of the State that they will vote safely and securely in the local government secretariat, protected by security agencies.

The INEC boss warned that “anyone attempting violence, vote-buying, intimidation, or ballot interference will face swift, lawful consequences.

“And to the voters — you have collected your PVCs, Security will protect you, and INEC is ready for you. So, come out on Saturday, 8th November, vote freely, vote peacefully, vote proudly.

“By God’s grace and the courage of the people, the 2025 Anambra governorship election will be peaceful, credible, and a true victory for democracy.”