Anambra Youths Applaud INEC for Landmark Election
A prominent youth organization in Anambra State has publicly commended the new National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, for his leadership in the recent governorship election. The Anambra State Town Union Council (ASTUC) stated that the poll proved INEC's capacity to organize free, fair, and credible elections nationwide.
Award for Exemplary Leadership
In a ceremony held in Awka, the state capital, on Friday, the youths presented the ASTUC Transparent and Exemplary Leadership Award to the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Queen Elizabeth Agwu. The honour recognized her pivotal role in ensuring the integrity of the Anambra State Governorship Election held on 8th November 2025.
The President-General of ASTUC, Hon. Ken Okoli, who presented the award, praised Dr. Agwu for her commendable work. He emphasized that the election is now widely regarded as the freest, fairest, and most transparent poll conducted by INEC in Nigeria. "We'll use it to assess how an election should be done peacefully and without violence," Okoli stated, highlighting the election's new standard for the country.
Record-Breaking Technical Success
In her acceptance speech, Dr. Agwu agreed that the gubernatorial election was extraordinary. She revealed that the Commission achieved unprecedented technical success, which was crucial to the poll's credibility.
The Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) functioned effectively, and the upload of results to the INEC server was remarkably smooth. Dr. Agwu provided a stunning statistic: by 6 p.m. on election day, just two hours after voting closed, 97.8 per cent of the results had already been uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing (I-ReV) platform.
Dr. Agwu recounted that she arrived in Anambra State in 2022, a period when public confidence in INEC was low. She initiated advocacy campaigns to restore faith in the electoral process. She credited the INEC National Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, as her greatest supporter, who advised her not to succumb to coercion. Her resolve was further strengthened when the Chairman attended the Peace Accord and Stakeholders Meeting, witnessing firsthand Nigerians' desire for a credible election.
She attributed the ultimate success of the election to divine intervention and the full cooperation of INEC staff at both the national and local levels.
