Enugu to spend N502m to conduct LG polls

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.