The Chairman, Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC), Mr Michael Ajogu, has promised that the commission would conduct a credible and transparent local government election on Feb. 23.
Ajogu spoke on Tuesday in Enugu, during a training organised by the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) for staff of ENSIEC.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training was attended by senior management staff, electoral and assistant electoral officers on election administration.
The chairman said that the essence of the training was to equip the concerned staff members with the necessary knowledge to drive a transparent electoral process on the election day.
He said that they must be equipped with firsthand knowledge on voter education.
“Our aim is to conduct a credible election that others can emulate because elections must be credible and transparent in order to sustain our democracy,” he said.
Ajogu said that the commission would not tolerate any form of corrupt practices by its staff members.
According to him, the members of staff are trained for the execution of a transparent election and must do everything possible to be fair to all parties in the contest.
He said that electoral malpractice was capable of jeopardising the growth of the nation and democracy, noting that only free and fair election could guarantee visionary leaders.
The chairman commended ECES for their support and encouragement in the buildup to the election.
He said that such support would aid the electoral umpire in achieving its goal of ensuring that all contestants in the election were fairly and equally treated.
In a remark, the Project Cordinator, ECES, Mr Hamza Fassi-Fihri, said that the local government is the bedrock of national development.
Fassi-Fihri, who was represented by the ECES Development Consultant, Mr Jide Ojo, said that the country needed to build a solid structure for economic growth.
“We must build a strong structure for this country and if we fail at the local government level, it will affect every other aspect of our economic life as a nation,” he said.
The project coordinator urged the participants to be good ambassadors of ENSIEC wherever they would be deployed for election duties on Feb. 23. (NAN)
