Elections into Community Government Council in Imo to hold March 1

The Imo government has earmarked March 1 for elections into the Community Government Councils (CGC) in the 637 communities in the state.

The Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Mr Sam Onwuemeodo, announced the development in Owerri on Wednesday.

Onwuemeodo said the date was an outcome of a meeting between Gov. Rochas Okorocha and the chairmen of the council of traditional rulers in the 27 local government areas.

He said the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC), the Ministry of Community Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and other stakeholders attended the meeting.

The governor's aide said that positions to be filled were the offices of the secretary, woman leader and youth leader.

He called on interested candidates to obtain application forms from the CGC office at the cost of N1,000, adding that those who had earlier purchased the forms should go for verification.

Onwuemeodo said the election would be conducted simultaneously in all the communities using the Option A4 and that only people from 18 years and above could vote.

The governor's aide said the machineries for free and fair elections would be put in place.

He warned the electorate to remain in their respective communities, saying that security officials would arrest anyone caught moving about to disrupt the election.

He said the electoral panel would appoint the electoral and returning officers in each local government who would conduct the election and announce the results.

According to him, the results will be announced to the people at the election venue before reporting back to the local government authorities.

He advised members of the communities to identify those seeking leadership positions and make sure that they did not have questionable character before casting their votes for them.