Anambra 2021: INEC Speaks On Mass Resignation Of Staff Over IPOB Attack

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied a report that some of its Adhoc staff have resigned ahead of the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State.

In an interview with newsmen on Tuesday, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Nwachukwu Orji, said the report that the staff resigned for fear of their lives due to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)-linked attacks was false and baseless.

Speaking in his office in Akwa, the state capital, Orji added that the commission is still recruiting hundreds of Adhoc workers for the upcoming election.

He disclosed that none of the Adhoc workers being recruited had been given an engagement letter, urging the public to disregard the report.

He said: “INEC is still in the process of recruiting the Adhoc workers, in fact, we just finished the last training before this false report.

“As the head of the commission in Anambra, I am telling you authoritatively that we have more than enough manpower for the conduct of the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra.

“If we have not issued letters to them, how then can any of them resign?

“Taking INEC jobs during elections has been one means for people who do not have permanent jobs to earn little money. Publishing negative reports that will scare them is so bad.”

Orji, however, appealed to the media to stop aiding publications capable of causing more tension in the polity.

He said that a lot of people in the country were looking for work to do so as to improve their lives, adding that it was bad to publish stories capable of frightening the poor masses.