Women Protests Anambra Guber Election

About 200 women from the 21 local government areas in Anambra State on Sunday protested the conduct of Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
They said the election was not credible and called for its cancellation and conduct of a fresh one.

The women, who carried leaves, expressed their disappointment with the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega.

They rolled repeatedly on the road leading to the INEC office chanting, “Jega has failed us,’ and ‘He should resign or be removed.”

A combined team of police officers and soldiers resisted their attempts to gain entry into the INEC premises.

Infuriated by the act, the women who gathered at Arroma Junction and marched through the Alex Ekwueme, rained abuses on the policemen and soldiers.

Spokesperson for the protesters, Mrs. Angela Akukalia, said many people were disenfranchised as their names were not found on the voter registers.

She said, “The election materials were not even available in most polling units across the state.

“In areas where they were available, they arrived so late and by then, most people had gone home.

“Even the rescheduled election in Idemili North was fixed on a Sunday when most people go to church and would not be around to vote.

“This was a scientific way to rig the election. Jega has failed us. He has shown he is not capable.”

She added that the “election should be cancelled because it is beyond Idemili North’’ where the rerun poll in 65 polling units held on Sunday.

Before the protest by the women, three candidates for the election closed ranks to kick against the conduct of the exercise that their All Progressives Grand Alliance counterpart, Chief Willie Obiano, was leading in 20 councils as of Sunday evening.