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The Enugu State governor, Peter Mbah, has inaugurated the newly constituted Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC), towards ensuring that the state witnesses a new era of democratic governance, where the will of the people will be the guiding principle for local government elections.
Speaking during the inauguration of the commission, held at the Government House in Enugu, in line with the Section 4 (1) of the ENSIEC Law, the governor tasked the commission, under the chairmanship of Prof Christian Ngwu, to conduct the upcoming local government council election with transparency and credibility.
A legal practitioner, Ifesinachi Umeobika, was also inaugurated as secretary of the commission, while Solomon Udeh, Chinenyenwa Ogbu, George Ani, Arthur Ede, Paully Eze, and Emeka Ukwuaba are members.
The governor said the leadership and members of electoral body’s new board are highly qualified in capacity and character. He stated that the qualities bore testimony to how their nominations were ratified without delay by the Enugu State House of Assembly.
He expressed confidence in the newly appointed ENSIEC leadership, saying: “This highly qualified team, with their capacity and character, has been entrusted to administer the critical third tier of government – the local councils.” Mbah emphasised the importance of the electoral body’s role in upholding the principles of free, fair, and credible elections.
The governor also told the ENSIEC members: “You are, therefore, charged with the responsibility to ensure that the rule and the procedures governing election into the local government councils are conducted in a free, fair and credible manner.
“As unbiased umpires, the people of Enugu State would be looking up to you to ensure that the rules are applied strictly without fear or favour. Therefore, we will be counting on you to discharge yourselves creditably in your new roles. Some of you are already in the system as you were reappointed and we expect you to bring your experience to bear.”
Responding on behalf of the new commission, Ngwu assured the governor and the people of Enugu that the ENSIEC members would be committed to reinvigorating the commission, and provide a level-playing field for all political parties.
“On behalf of my members, I wish to reassure you that we are going to reengineer ENSIEC in accordance with government’s disruptive innovation mantra. We will reengineer, reinvigorate and re-enliven ENSIEC,” Ngwu stated.
