It is not sure that the Anambra State governorship election will be conducted next year, as a group is planning to disrupt the poll. The group, the Movement for the Conduct of Local Government Election in Anambra State, has threatened to disrupt the election if the much awaited council poll was conducted by Governor Peter Obi.
Addressing journalists yesterday after a meeting with the governor in Awka, its chairman, Mr. Osita Obi, said the group would embark on various measures,
including legal action and civil disobedience to frustrate the conduct of the governorship election.
The chairman said. “If the council election is not conducted, our group, whose members are drawn from chairman and councillorship aspirants from the 21 local government areas, will frustrate the governorship poll.
“We have prevailed on Governor Obi to conduct the election and failed. Now, we will approach the struggle politically, we will go to the streets and fight for the conduct of the local government election. We will go to the court to get an injunction to stop the governorship election.”
He, however, urged the governor to meet with the state Independent Electoral Commission and ensure that the time table for the council election is released soonest.
The group chairman said: “We have about 20,000 members whose rights are being infringed upon by the state government’s refusal to conduct the council poll. For the past 13 years, council election has not been conducted in Anambra State.
“We we petitioned the Presidency, the Senate and Chairman of the Independent Nation Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, on the issue.”
A member of the group and Anaocha Local Government Area chairmanship aspirant, Mr. Mike Onwudinjo, however, told National Mirror that he is optimistic that the council election would be conducted soonest due to what the governor told them.
Governor Obi told journalists shortly after his meeting with the group that he was concerned that the election had not been conducted, blaming the development on spate of litigations initiated by some individuals against the government’s plan to conduct it.
He, however, promised that his administration would conduct and credible and hitch-free local government election.
