Chairman of the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission, Ethelbert Ibebuchi, has disclosed why the electoral agency has failed to hold local government elections in the state for the seventh year in a row.
He apologized to the people of the state while addressing stakeholders at the ISIEC headquarters in Owerri, while stating that LGAs and councillorship elections would now hold on July 14.
Ibebuchi said, “ISIEC regrets that elections into the local government councils ought to have come before now.
“However, this couldn’t be on account of mounting challenges streamed along, for which strenuous efforts have been deployed in order to put things right.”
Ibebuchi, who promised that the outcome of the elections would be peaceful, free and fair, added that there was no way rural people could feel the maximum impact of democracy without a functional local government system.
He said that Imo State Law Number 5 of 2001 and Part (IV) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) empowered the Commission to fix and conduct elections in the LGAs of the state.
Ibebuchi while calling on all stakeholders and political parties to prepare for the long overdue elections, said that the electoral umpire was not ready to favour any political party above the other.
PUNCH
