By Chinaza Osigwe
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that about 24,000 ad hoc staff of all categories will be deployed across 5,718 polling units for the Anambra State governorship election scheduled for November 8, 2025.The National Commissioner supervising Anambra State and Chairman of the Tenders Board Committee, Dr Kenneth Ikeagu, disclosed this during a press briefing at the INEC state headquarters in Awka on Saturday.Dr Ikeagu said the Commission has also accredited 540 journalists to cover the election, adding that INEC is fully prepared and committed to ensuring a credible and inclusive poll. He explained that the Commission has implemented a comprehensive plan of activities covering logistics, technology, training, stakeholder engagement, and security coordination.According to him, a mock accreditation exercise was conducted across selected polling units in the three senatorial districts of the state to test the upgraded Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and evaluate the process of uploading results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal.He said the mock exercise, which took place on Saturday, was aimed at assessing logistics and operational readiness ahead of the election. “We carried out mock accreditation and other voting exercises, and the process went seamlessly. Accreditation took less than six minutes, and voting concluded within 36 minutes,” he said.Ikeagu assured voters of early arrival of election materials, noting that arrangements have been made for boats to convey materials and electoral officers to riverine areas. “Materials will be leaving on Thursday afternoon. If that happens, there will be no delay in the arrival of materials on election day,” he stated.He further noted that the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) across wards would end on Sunday, October 25, unless otherwise directed by the INEC headquarters. “Anambra people have been adequately enlightened on how to vote. The election will start by 8:30 a.m. and end by 2:30 p.m. Anyone in the queue within this period will be allowed to vote,” he added.About sixteen candidates from various political parties are contesting the November 8 governorship election, including the incumbent governor and candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who is seeking re-election.
