By Ifeoma Aka
The Forum of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria has commended the Enugu State Government for consistently conducting Local Government elections as at when due.
It also urged the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) to engage in massive voter education and sensitisation before the next Local Council election.
The Forum Leader, Mr Fidelis Nweke, stated this on Wednesday in Enugu while briefing Journalists on its observations on the conduct of the council elections in the state.
Nweke noted that the state government was conducting the election when many states were complaining of poor allocation from the federal government.
“Indeed, Enugu state governor is a true democrat by ending the use of caretaker chairmen in the state.
“And making sure that democratic Local Government chairmen and Councillors are elected in Enugu state,” he added.
The Team Leader described Local government system as the last bastion of the nation’s democracy because of its close affinity to the grassroot, a development that made it mandatory for the Local Government election.
According to him, the Forum met with various stakeholders in the electoral process, including ENSIEC, the political parties, the security agencies and the electorate.
“This was aimed at determining the level of preparedness of all the relevant stakeholders, as part of the critical component of election observation in Enugu state.
“After our consultation with various stakeholders, our team was reassured that concerted efforts have been made to create a conducive and peaceful atmosphere for the elections.
“We are also calling on the security agencies to be up and doing during and after the exercise”, Nweke said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the electorates went to the polls Wednesday to elect chairmen and councilors to the 17 local governments and 260 wards in the state. (NAN)
