The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) praised the peaceful and orderly conduct of Saturday’s local government elections in Enugu State, while raising concerns over alleged access denial and missing election materials in some areas.
State chairman Dr. Johnpaul Ani, who cast his ballot at Unit 002 of Amaetiti Town Hall in Nkanu West, said the voting process in his polling unit and the wider local government was “peaceful, transparent and credible.” He commended the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) for a “hitch‑free” exercise.
“First, my assessment of the process is that the process was peaceful, transparent and credible, the way I voted,” Ani said. “I want to commend the commission, ENSIEC, for conducting such a hitch‑free exercise.”
However, Ani alleged that NDC officials were denied access to local government council headquarters in Aninri, Nkanu East and Isi‑Uzo, where election materials were being distributed to wards and polling units. He said the party had reported the incidents to authorities and urged ENSIEC to investigate and prosecute those responsible.
Reports also indicated that some polling units in the affected areas had not received election materials at the time of his statement. In contrast, Ani noted that in Nkanu West all polling units received the required materials and that NDC agents had monitored voting, counting and result collation in units where the party fielded candidates.
“We are confident that we will win this election at the end of the day because we have done a campaign. We fielded credible candidates; we fielded people that understand what the masses want,” Ani said, adding that the party would await ENSIEC’s official results before taking further action.
At the time of reporting, Chief Sunday Aniachi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had emerged the winner in Akpugo Ward 5 as councillor‑elect, with the NDC securing victories in several polling units.
<small>Source: Daily Post Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
