Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Enugu State Government and the state Police Command have announced restrictions on human and vehicular movement across the state for Saturday’s local government elections, with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps deploying 2,527 personnel to complement police operations as the state prepares to elect chairmen for its 17 Local Government Councils and councillors for the 260 wards.
The Secretary to the State Government, Chidiebere Onyia, said in a statement on Thursday that vehicular movement and other forms of transportation would be restricted from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 26, 2026. “The Government of Enugu State hereby announces a restriction of vehicular movement and other forms of transportation across the State from 6:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday, September 26, 2026,” the statement read. The government said the measure was aimed at ensuring a peaceful, orderly, secure and hitch-free election. Exempted from the restriction are officials of the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission and accredited election personnel, security personnel deployed for election duties, accredited election observers, authorised media practitioners, health workers, ambulances, firefighters and other persons authorised to perform essential election or emergency duties.
In a separate statement, the state Police Command’s spokesperson, SP Daniel Ndukwe, said the Commissioner of Police, Mamman Giwa, had ordered the restriction of human and vehicular movements from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on election day. Giwa also barred quasi-security outfits from participating in election security and directed armed security personnel on VIP escort duties not to escort VIPs to polling units. He assured the electorate and the public of adequate security before, during and after the elections, in collaboration with other security agencies, and urged eligible voters to turn out and exercise their franchise. The Commissioner warned political parties, candidates and their supporters against electoral malpractices and acts capable of disrupting the peaceful conduct of the elections, stressing that violators would face the full weight of the law.
The NSCDC’s deployment of 2,527 personnel adds a significant layer to the security architecture for the polls. The Commandant of the NSCDC Enugu State Command, Dr Elijah Willie, said the personnel would be deployed across the 17 local government areas to protect critical national assets and ensure a peaceful exercise. Security agencies in the state have said arrangements for the election have been concluded, with the Nigeria Police as the lead agency.
Saturday’s poll is the first since the last local government election held on September 21, 2024, in which the ruling Peoples Democratic Party won all 17 chairmanship seats and all 260 councillorship seats. The election is being conducted by ENSIEC, whose chairman, Prof. Christian Ngwu, declared on September 14 that the commission was over 90 per cent ready for the polls. Ngwu said the commission had trained the trainers of the ad hoc staff and advertised for the recruitment of ad hoc staff, while almost all election materials were ready. He said non-sensitive materials would be moved from ENSIEC headquarters to council headquarters, while sensitive materials would be received and kept in a safe place. He also said the commission was concluding arrangements with transport unions and companies to ensure adequate logistics, and that security arrangements had been finalised with the Police as the lead agency.
The political landscape leading up to the election has been marked by both cooperation and contention. Seven political parties signed a Peace Accord Agreement on Monday, committing to peaceful, non-violent, free and inclusive participation at the polls. The parties that signed the accord included the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Because Of Our Tomorrow, the National Rescue Movement, the Action Democratic Party, the Action Peoples Party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance and the All Progressives Congress. ENSIEC Chairman Ngwu said the signing was imperative to ensure political parties, candidates and supporters maintained decorum before, during and after the polls. However, the NDC had earlier threatened to boycott the elections over the alleged refusal of ENSIEC to release official electoral materials to the party. The party accused ENSIEC of political discrimination and withholding critical electoral materials belonging to its duly authorised representatives. The NDC later announced its decision to boycott the polls, accusing the Mbah administration and ENSIEC of denying it access to materials. The Indigenous People of Biafra also insisted that its planned boycott of the elections remained unchanged, accusing the Enugu State Government of allowing political violence against opposition groups.
The APC, meanwhile, has been actively campaigning. The party elected 17 candidates to fly its flag in the council polls and flagged off its campaign in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area, vowing victory. Leaders and stakeholders of the APC in Enugu North Local Government Area endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Peter Mbah and the party’s candidates ahead of the September 26 election and the 2027 general elections.
The election comes amid a broader political context in which the 2027 general elections are less than four months away, with the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, and the governorship and state assembly elections for February 6, 2027. The Enugu council poll is therefore being watched closely as an indicator of the political temperature in the South-East and of the effectiveness of the state’s electoral machinery. The restrictions on movement, the deployment of security personnel and the signing of the peace accord all point to a determination by the state authorities to ensure that the election proceeds without disruption. Whether the boycott by the NDC and IPOB will affect turnout and the credibility of the outcome remains to be seen, but for now, the machinery of the state has been mobilised to deliver what ENSIEC has promised: a free, fair and credible election.
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