No fewer than 296 candidates from 36 political parties will participate in Feb. 29 local government election in Enugu State, an official of Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) has said.
Mr Tagbo Nnamah and Administrative Secretary of the commission disclosed this on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu.
He said that the number of candidates for councillors was being compiled.
Nnamah said that the electoral umpire was fully prepared for the exercise and had already begun to distribute non-sensitive materials for the polls.
He said that the commission would be deploying no fewer than 3,058 ad-hoc staff for the exercise, adding that such staff had been trained.
On security, the administrative secretary said that the commission had made every effort to ensure the safety of everyone that would participate in the exercise, including electoral materials.
“We are prepared for the elections and nothing is hindering us. Distribution of non-sensitive materials is ongoing at the moment.
“We have had a meaningful discussion with security agencies and every arrangement has been made for the security of personnel and materials,” Nnamah said.
Meanwhile, some residents of the state have expressed indifference in the forthcoming local government elections in the state.
Some of the residents said that they were not aware of the election due to the lack of the usual fanfare and campaign activities associated with elections.
Miss Amarachi Agba said that she was not informed about the election and had no plans to participate.
Agba said that she was not aware of any candidate standing for the election as campaigns seemed not to be serious.
“There is nothing new in this election after all that we have experienced in the local government system.
“I do not know who the candidates are not to talk of if the vote will count,” Agba said.
However, Mr Emmanuel Uchechukwu, said though he was not familiar with any of the candidates he would vote.