Deji Adeyanju, an Abuja-based activist, has urged the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in Anambra State, Valentine Ozigbo to step down.

 

Adeyanju advised Ozigbo to step down for the candidates of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, or YPP.

 

The Convener of Concerned Nigerians gave the advice barely 48 hours before the governorship election.

 

In a tweet, Adeyanju said Ozigbo should not waste his money and the time of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Adeyanju said Ozigbo is not qualified to run for the governorship election of Anambra State.

 

“The PDP candidate in the Anambra election should step down for YPP or APGA. The guy is not in the race. He should not waste money and the time of INEC,” Adeyanju wrote.

The Anambra State governorship election is scheduled to hold on Saturday.

 

”The Peoples Democratic Party Coalition (PDPCO), the umbrella body of the main opposition party in Nigeria, has canvassed for support for Ozigbo in the coming November 6 election in Anambra state.

 

The coalition disclosed that it has embarked on a Mobilization drive to ensure the emergence of Ozigbo adding that its drive was on the basis of excellence and total allegiance to the party’s philosophy built on working to provide meaningful leadership for the Anambra people and Nigeria in general.

 

Meanwhile, Chairman of the National Peace Committee, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, on Thursday called on candidates and political parties in the Anambra governorship election to abide by the letters of the peace accord to ensure a free, fair and credible election in the state.

 

He urged that aggrieved parties should not resort to violence but follow the judicial process.

 

Abubakar, a former Head of State, said this at the signing of the peace accord by the chairmen and candidates of the 17 political parties in Anambra.

 

The candidates included that of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo; the Peoples Democratic Party, Valentine Ozigbo; and the All Progressives Congress, Andy Uba.

 

The NPC boss said the accord “is not a mere exercise but a clarion call for stakeholders to commit themselves to a peaceful electoral process.”

 

He said, “We, members of the National Peace Committee have come to Anambra State to support a peaceful electoral process. We cherish Anambra State, and we cherish the peace and unity of Nigeria. Most importantly, we want to contribute our own quota to see that the governorship election in Anambra State is devoid of violence.

“We call on candidates, their parties and supporters to accept the outcome of the vote as long as it is judged to be free, fair and credible. In the letter and spirit of the accord, any aggrieved party should not resort to violence, but follow a judicial process.”

 

At the event, the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, said the commission had concluded plans to ensure a hitch-free election.

 

He said, “INEC is ready to organise hitch-free election. The focus of the NPC was initially for the presidential election but having played a major role in a free, fair and credible elections in Edo and Ondo, we called for their support for the Anambra election on Saturday and we are happy they responded.

 

“We are also hopeful that this election will be without hiccups. We hope the political parties will adhere to the peace accord so that we can have a peaceful election and country.”

 

Also security personnel have taken over Anambra State ahead of the governorship election to be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission on Saturday.

 

The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, was said to have deployed 34,587 policemen to ensure a hitch-free election.

 

The Nigerian Army also had its soldiers on the ground, while the Nigeria Air Force and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps had assigned their men to the state.

 

Connecting other parts of the state from Onitsha was difficult on Thursday as police checkpoints were erected on major highways.

 

Gunshots were also heard around the Aroma junction on the Onitsha-Enugu highway as security operatives announced their arrival at different parts of the town.

 

However, some residents still entertained fear over their safety.

 

Similarly, INEC on Thursday commenced the distribution of sensitive materials across the 21 local government areas of the state.

 

The materials, distributed from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s branch in Awka, included the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System ballot booklets, result sheets and other materials for use at various polling units.

Speaking, the INEC National Commissioner in charge of Anambra election supervision, Festus Okoye, said seven Resident Electoral Commissioners were in the state to take charge of three local government areas each on the election day.

 

He said adequate security arrangements had been provided to secure the materials at INEC offices in the LGAs, adding that vehicles conveying the materials were electronically tracked to ensure they followed identified routes to their destinations.

 

“The materials were brought out for intact assessment by political party agents, before being handed over to each of the electoral officers for the 21 local government areas of the state to be escorted by security agents,” Okoye said.

 

Director, Electoral Operation, INEC, Abdulrazak Yusuf, said the materials were uniquely designed for only their designated polling units.