Enugu to spend N502m to conduct LG polls

Posted by admin Enugu, Local Govt, State News Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

Chairman of the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC), Dr. Boniface Eneh has disclosed budgetary plans by the commission to spend N502 million in the planning and conduct of the December 10 local government elections in the state.

Dr. Eneh, who had foot dragged before releasing the figure to newsmen in Enugu yesterday, said he had all the finances needed and also had the assurance of the state governor that his financial requirements would be taken care of.
The ENSIEC chairman also confirmed the controversy over who the authentic chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in the state was and who was in position to present the party’s nomination list to the commission.
Although he denied receiving a parallel list from another faction of the PDP in the state, Eneh said he received a letter from one Alex Ogbonna, claiming to be the authentic chairman of the party.

Said he: “The document from him is a letter telling me he is the authentic chairman of PDP. I have written to the appropriate quarters to confirm that. I am expecting reactions from various offices to confirm that but I must say that no list was submitted by Alex Ogbonna.

While expressing commitment and assurance to conduct a free and fair election, Eneh noted that Enugu had continued to run the third tier of government democratically, insisting that the commission was working hard to ensure that newly elected chairmen and councilors were sworn-in in January.

“Come December 10, you will not notice hitches to the things we need for a free and fair election. Materials have arrived and all sensitive materials are with us, almost ready; so no hiccups to our preparation, we are on course.”
“I want to assure our people that we shall be fair because I have integrity to protect. You don’t win elections by sitting in your house and putting up posters, you have to go round and talk to the people; you have to canvass for votes in the field. I assure you that at the end of the day, the winner will be that person that polls the highest number of votes.

The ENSIEC chairman described the local government elections as a grassroots thing, where the people knew themselves, arguing that only credible candidates ought to be presented so as not to create unnecessary tension.
He disclosed that about nine political parties had indicated interest in taking part in the election but noted that until all forms were returned, it would be difficult to determine how many parties would actually be participating in the election.

-Sunwp_posts