CLO Warns 800,000 Anambra Residents Risk Disenfranchisement, Demands Urgent INEC Action

The Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), Anambra State Branch, has called on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, to urgently intervene to prevent what it described as the imminent disenfranchisement of over 800,000 eligible voters in the state ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The organisation attributed the situation to the inadequate number of polling units and electoral wards in rapidly expanding communities, as well as alleged extortion by some INEC officials during the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.

In a press statement issued in Awka and jointly signed by the State Chairman, Evangelist Comrade Vincent Ezekwueme AMBP-UN, Secretary, Comrade Chidi Mbah, and Comrade Damian Ogudike, under the theme, “All Hands Must Be on Deck to Enthrone Good Governance,” the group urged the electoral commission to immediately create additional electoral wards and polling units across affected areas.

According to the CLO, it had repeatedly appealed to INEC to establish more polling units in numerous housing estates and newly developed layouts across Anambra State to enable residents exercise their constitutional right to vote, but its appeals had yet to receive a favourable response.

The organisation noted that the economic hardship and rising cost of living in major urban centres had forced many residents to relocate to suburban communities such as Nsugbe, Nkwelle, Umunya, Oba, Umuchu and Igbariam, where existing electoral infrastructure is said to be grossly inadequate.

It lamented that the stretch from Magazine Junction to Nkwelle is currently served by only two polling units located at St. Theresa Parish, Mba Farm, and Oyolu Primary School, describing the situation as unacceptable.

The rights group further called on INEC to extend the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration exercise, arguing that many eligible voters had been unable to register due to logistical challenges and alleged demands for bribes by some electoral officials.

According to the statement, prospective registrants were allegedly asked to pay between ₦2,000 and ₦5,000 before they could be registered, a practice the organisation said had discouraged many citizens from participating in the electoral process.

To support its claims, the CLO cited the experience of elder statesman, Chief Tony Nnaji, who reportedly alleged that his daughter visited the Onitsha South INEC office on three separate occasions to register but was unsuccessful after refusing to pay an alleged ₦3,000 bribe demanded by officials.

The organisation said it had continued to receive numerous complaints from frustrated prospective voters across the state, stressing that more than 15 housing estates in Nkwelle alone currently have no designated polling units.

The CLO urged INEC to investigate the allegations of extortion and sanction any officials found culpable, insisting that such actions were necessary to restore public confidence in the electoral process and safeguard the integrity of future elections.

Quoting British statesman Edmund Burke, the organisation said, “Evil triumphs not because of those who do it, but because good people sit back and do nothing,” adding that those responsible for any acts capable of undermining Nigeria’s democracy should be brought to justice to serve as a deterrent to others.

The group maintained that urgent action by the electoral commission would ensure that thousands of eligible voters in Anambra State are not denied their constitutional right to participate in future elections.