A lot at stake in Anambra during March 18 election

ON SATURDAY, March 18, 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will conduct the governorship and state legislature elections earlier scheduled to hold on Saturday in all the states in Nigeria.

  In Anambra State, only the  House of Assembly election will be conducted since the governorship election in the state do not hold same time with other states across the nation given changes in election cycle  over the years.

  HOWEVER, following glitches witnessed in the presidential and National Assembly elections held penultimate Saturday, a good number of voters are either not eager to go out to exercise their franchise or are being persuaded to make a protest vote by casting their votes for candidates of a particular party given to them , not minding whether they know the candidates or the quality of candidates fielded by the party in the election.

  WHATEVER may be the case, National Light deems it necessary to encourage the electorates, irrespective of the flaws witnessed in the February 25 elections, which includes insufficiency of   electoral officials and materials, poor performance of the BVAS machines, among others, to be  enthusiastic about March 11 polls  to elect capable people to  the State House of Assembly .

  ALREADY, there are attempts by aggrieved, self-motivated people to sway voters in Anambra to embark on protest votes against the government and the ruling party in the state.  They do not hide their mission to create  rival political party to be in the majority in the state’s  legislature. This can only portend destabilisation and return to the days when Anambra State  was known for political banters, furore and attendant  backwardness in terms of economic and infrastructural development.

  NDI ANAMBRA are therefore, advised to disregard the antics of the mischief makers to misdirect them and ensure they sustain what has been working for them for the  over 16 years, which they have experienced  politics of good understanding between people’s representatives,  the people and  their government –  the executive- legislative harmony.

  THIS is time to take cognizance of landmark achievements of past and present governments which were hallmarked by a seamless executive- legislative harmony as a result of having majority of the House of Assembly members elected from the ruling party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). If anything, there is no community in the state that cannot boast of some  substantial projects completed  in their domain by the state  government through the Community Choose Your Project initiative, through which community schools, markets, parks, health facilities, among others have been built or  upgraded.

  THE legislators might have killed the projects if they  were  not in  rapour with the governors in power. Given the continuation of the ruling party in government,  the initiative has been sustained for the past nine years with the present governor  increasing  the money from the initial  N20million to N25million.

  RECALL that Anambra was  known for too many post-electoral suits and outlandish  rancor and bickering in her politics with   attendant lull in development which resulted in unlawful  impeachment of a governor, abduction of a sitting governor, burning and destruction of government facilities, hijacking of state funds by godfathers, among others; but with the emergence of  a very organised political system that throws up  intelligent people in governance with support of united House of Assembly members,  the state  later recovered to  become a state to reckon with  in economic and infrastructural developments.

  WHATEVER made it so should be sustained. We therefore call on ndi Anambra  to remain steadfast and not allow themselves to  be deceived or  used against a government that has done so much already for them  with lots more still loading. They must resist at all costs, any form of propaganda, manipulation or deceit against this government that has given so much in so short a time.

  TO AVOID derailing the trajectory of sustainable socio- economic growth and the successful development template ongoing in the state, ndi Anambra must turn out en masse to strengthen  the state government  with a legislature that will support  her progressive  policies.

  ON THE other hand, the electoral umpire, INEC should ensure that insufficiency of electoral materials, Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) malfunctioning and inability of some people in some parts of the state to vote due to security scare should be addressed so that people in the affected  areas will have good representatives  elected  in the  election  in Anambra State legislature.