Dr. Elizabeth Agwu, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Anambra State, has reaffirmed her commitment to ensuring free and fair elections, stressing that over the past three years, she has worked diligently to make the electoral process resistant to corruption.
Agwu shared her achievements in overseeing transparent elections during her tenure at a two-day dialogue session hosted by the International Press Centre in Awka.
The dialogue, held on Thursday and Friday, centered on the theme, “Rebuilding Trust in the Electoral Process and Elections,” aiming to foster open discussions among key stakeholders in election and democratic governance.
This dialogue took place in anticipation of the upcoming by-election in Anambra South Senatorial District, as well as the November 8, 2025 governorship election.
“Everybody in Anambra who knows me knows that I am a working REC. I have supervised three elections here. It is in Anambra that every politician who has money tries to buy elections, but they could not because I made it unpurchasable. I told the politicians, if you feel you are strong and rich and want to buy the election, you have to give me N3 billion. Out of it, I will give N1 billion to my staff and take N1 billion to enjoy myself on a Caribbean Island,” Agwu stated.
She went on to say, “Because no one could pay me that money, I was allowed to conduct the elections, and these politicians failed. I told the people of Anambra that their votes would count and urged them to stop selling their PVCs. Selling PVCs is shooting ourselves in the leg, as that is what will be used to vote.”
The REC commended Anambra as leading the nation in the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), a project she initiated to ensure better voter participation.
“We at INEC have our job clearly spelt out in the Nigerian constitution without any external influence. However, politicians often try to influence us to act according to their wishes,” she remarked.
Agwu also recounted an unfortunate event from the previous election where a mother, serving as a Supervisory Polling Officer, sold voter registers, cards, and result sheets to political parties.
She expressed regret that the issue had not been addressed sooner, which led to the need for a repeat election in February.
Looking ahead to the upcoming elections, Agwu assured that INEC was prepared to conduct the elections in a credible and transparent manner.
She clarified that the Senate had yet to notify INEC of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah’s death, which was necessary before proceeding with the by-election.
She called on Anambra residents, particularly politicians, to abide by the rules as the state prepares for the 2025 governorship election, assuring them that INEC would ensure their votes would be counted.
In a contrasting perspective, Dr. Nwachukwu Orji, a former INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Anambra and an academic at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, expressed a lack of confidence in the commission.
Orji criticized the prevalence of vote-buying and the unprofessional behavior of some INEC officials, which he argued had eroded public trust in the institution.
He pointed out that the decline in the electoral process began in the 2015 elections and worsened in the 2023 general elections, leading to a loss of integrity for the commission.
Mr. Lanre Arogundade, the Executive Director of the International Press Centre, opened the event with remarks about the need to rebuild public trust in Nigeria’s electoral process.
He emphasized that the stakeholder dialogue was designed to foster a collaborative approach to future elections, enhance INEC’s credibility, and prepare for the 2025 governorship election as well as the 2027 elections.
“This event is designed to address and mitigate negative perceptions about elections in Nigeria, rebuild public trust, and galvanize the support of critical stakeholders as partners with INEC in enhancing credible elections,” Arogundade explained.
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