INFORMATION KIT FOR 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS 1 FOREWARD The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has come a long way since 2011 in making the Nigerian electoral process transparent, as a way of ensuring that elections are free, fair and credible and that they measure up to global best standards of democratic elections. We have done this not only by reforms that have been in the electoral procedures, but also in the way informationon the process is made available for public use and awareness. Even though the yearnings of many Nigerians for a perfect electoral process may not have been fulfilled yet, our reforms since 2011 has ensured incremental improvement in the quality and credibility of elections that have been conducted. Beginning with some of the Governorship elections conducted by INEC since 2013, the Commission began to articulate Information Kits for the enlightenment of the public, especially election observers and journalists who may need some background information in order to follow and adequately undertstand the electoral process. With the 2015 General Elections scheduled to take place nationwide, this document is unique, in that it brings together electoral information about all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). I am optimistic that this kit will contribute to the body of knowledge about the Nigerian electoral system and enhance the transparency of the 2015 elections. Professor Attahiru Jega, OFR Chairman ACRONYMS AC Area Council Admin Sec Administrative Secretary AMAC Abuja Municipal Area Council ASP Assistant Superintendent of Police CP Commissioner of Police DSS Department of State Security ED Edo State FC Federal Constituency FCE Federal College of Education FCT Federal Capital Territory FRSC Federal Road Safety Corps GAP General Administration and Procurement Department GMMC General Murtala Mohammed College GSS Government Secondary School HOD Head of Department HQ/HQTERS Headquarters ICCES Interagency Consultative Committee on Election Security ICT Information and Communication Technology INEC Independent National Electoral Commission JTF Joint Task Force (security agencies) KMC Kano Municipal Council LG Local Government LGA Local Government Area LGC Local Government Council 2 MMC Maiduguri Metropolitan Council NDLEA National Drug Law Enforcement Agency NOA National Orientation Agency NSCDC Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps NYSC National Youth Service Corps PAO Principal Administrative Officer PUs Polling Units RAs Registration Areas REC Resident Electoral Commissioner SC State Constituency SD Senatorial District UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme VEP Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and CSO Liaison Department VPs Voting Points VR Voter Registry AKNOWLEDGEMENT A compilation of this sort cannot but be a product of the entire organisation’s collective effort: the Commission, led by Hon. Chairman, who gave approval for project execution; the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) who activated the process of providing the required information from their respective jurisdiction; and the Adminstrative Secretaries who provided the responses to the national headquarters. The need to make an information package like this compedium available to the public is a commitment mutually shared within the Commission, and which all worked hard to deliver. A major credit for the compilation goes to Princess Hamman-Obels who worked the phones relentlessly to get INEC states offices to provide their input in the specific form required, and who worked the computers for long hours to format the content. Credit also goes to Chinwe Ogbuka who re-worked the histories of the states and the FCT into compact forms suitable for this compilation. Kayode Robert Idowu INTRODUCTION Information is necessary for efficient functioning in every sphere of human endeavour. For the Nigerian electoral system, and the 2015 General Elections in particular, some basic information can be helpful in understanding and interpreting the processes, as well as in connecting with various stakeholders in election management. This compedium is designed to provide such basic information. The Information Kit is a user-friendly compilation of electoral information about the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory where the 2015 elections will be conducted. The document will provide the user an overview of basic statistics about the electoral features of each state, the election managers and their contact lines, as well as representatives security agencies on the platform of ICCES and their contact lines. These bits of information will be useful for anyone wishing to follow and understand the polling process. It is hoped that voters, media professionals and election observers, among others, will find the kit handy in understanding the processes of the general election. 3 ABIA BRIEF HISTORY Abia State in South-Eastern Nigeria was created on 27th August, 1991 out of the old Imo State. The state lies approximately within latitudes 4o 40’ and 6o 14’N and longitudes 7o 10’ and 8oE. It occupies a land area of about 5,243.7 Square Kilometers with a population of 2,833,999 based on the 2006 census. It has common boundaries with Ebonyi and Enugu states to the north. Rivers State to the south and southwest, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states to the east and southeast respectively, Imo State to the west and Anambra State to the northwest. Abia people are of the Igbo ethnic group. Abia State has seventeen (17) Local Government Areas (LGAs). The capital is Umuahia. Other notable urban centres include Aba, Arochukwu, Abiriba, Ohafia, Uturu and Bende. Abia State has a number of tourist sites such as the National War Museum, Umuahia, Arochukwu Caves; Azumini Blue River Tourist Village; Akwette Weaving Centre; the Long Juju Shrine, Arochukwu; Museum of Colonial History, Aba. ELECTORAL STATISTICS S/N LGA RAs PUs 1 Aba North 12 305 2 Aba South 12 304 3 Arochukwu 11 149 4 Bende 13 190 5 Ikwuano 10 90 6 Isiala Ngwa North 10 125 7 Isiala Ngwa South 10 136 8 Isuikwuato 10 116 9 Obingwa 11 223 10 Ohafia 11 230 11 Osisioma 10 110 12 Ugwunagbo 10 114 13 Ukwa East 10 65 14 Ukwa West 10 80 15 Umuahia North 12 194 16 Umuahia South 10 121 17 Umunneochi 12 124 TOTAL 184 2676 SENATORIAL DISTRICTS S/N DISTRICT LGA COMPOSITION RAS PUS COLLATION CENTRE 1 Abia North Umunneochi/ Isuikwuato/ Ohafia/ 57 809 Council Hall Ebem SD/001/AB Arochukwu/Bende 2 Abia Central Umuahia North/ Umuahia South/ 62 776 Council Hall, Umuahia SD/002/AB Ikwuano/ Isiala Ngwa North/ Isiala Ngwa North LGA South/ Osisioma 3 Abia South Aba North/Aba South/ Ugwunagbo/ 65 1091 Aba Town Hall, Aba South SD/003/AB Obingwa/ Ukwa East/ Ukwa West LGA FEDERAL CONSTITUENCIES S/ CONSTITUENCY COMPOSITION RAs PUs COLLATION CENTRE N 4 1 Aba North/Aba South Aba North/Aba South 24 609 Aba Town Hall 2 Arochukwu/Ohafia Arochukwu/Ohafia 22 379 Council Hall Ohafia 3 Bende Bende 13 190 Council Hall, Bende 4 Isiala Ngwa North /Isiala Isiala Ngwa North /South 20 261 Council Hall Isiala Ngwa Ngwa South North LGA Hqts 5 Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Isuikwuato/Umunneochi 22 240 Council Hall Isuikwuato 6 Obingwa/Ugwunagbo Obingwa/Ugwunagbo/ 31 447 Obingwa LG Hqts /Osisioma Osisioma 7 Umuahia North/ South Umuahia North /South/ 32 405 Council Hall Umuahia /Ikwuano Ikwuano North 8 Ukwa East/West Ukwa West/East 20 145 Ukwa West LG Hqts STATE CONSTITUENCIES S/N CONSTITUENCY LGAs RAs PUs COLLATION CENTRE 1 Aba North 1 9 228 Council Hall, Aba North LGA HQ. 2 Aba South 1 7 182 Aba Town Hall, Aba South LGA HQ. 3 Aba Central 2 8 201 Aba Town Hall, Aba South LGA HQ. 4 Arochukwu 1 11 149 Council Hall, Arocukwu LGA HQ. 5 Bende North 1 7 90 Council Hall, Bende LGA HQ. 6 Bende South 1 6 101 Council Hall, Bende LGA HQ. 7 Ikwuato 1 10 90 Council Hall, Ikwuano LGA HQ. 8 Isiala Ngwa North 1 10 125 Council Hall, Okpuala Ngwa 9 Isiala Ngwa South 1 10 134 Council Hall, Omoba 10 Isuikwuato 1 10 116 Council Hall, Isuikwuato 11 Obingwa East 1 5 106 Ohanze Comm. Secondary School 12 Obingwa West 1 6 117 Council Hall, Obingwa Lga Hq. 13 Ohafia North 1 6 105 Council Hall, Ohafia LGA Hq. 14 Ohafia South 1 5 125 Council Hall, Ohafia LGA Hq. 15 Osisioma North 1 5 38 Amavo Pry. School 16 Osisioma South 1 5 72 Ngwa High School 17 Umunneochi 1 12 124 Council Hall, Nkwoachara Isuochi LGA 18 Ugwunagbo Lga 1 10 114 Council Hall, Ugwunagbo LGA HQ. 19 Ukwa East 1 10 65 Council Hall, LGA HQ. 20 Ukwa West 1 10 80 Council Hall, Ukwa West LGA HQ. 21 Umuahia East 1 4 59 Council Hall, Umuahia North LGA HQ. 22 Umuahia North 1 5 67 Council Hall, Umuahia North LGA HQ. 23 Umuahia Central 1 3 68 Council Hall, Umuahia North LGA HQ. 24 Umuahia South 1 10 121 Council Hall, LGA HQ. STATE MANAGEMENT TEAM S/ NAME DESIGNATION PHONE N 1 Prof. Selina O. Oko REC 08033802349 2 Mr. Mbanaja Charles Admin. Sec. 08035968225 3 Mr. Okolie Gilbert HOD Operations 08033253161 4 Mr. Atoki Anthony HOD Election & Party Monitoring 08035316491 5 Mr. Peter C. Eze HOD Accts & Finance 08037013900 6 Mr. Edwin E. Enabor HOD, VEP 07032589455 7 Mr. Ikhine Anthony HOD Gen. Admin. & Procurement 07035062092 8 Mr. Ejiofor Herbert Acting HOD ICT & VR 08036663993 5 ELECTORAL OFFICERS S/N LGA NAME PHONE 1 Aba North Amaechi Okorie, Mercy 08182704466 2 Aba South Okereke, Juliet 08036772762 3 Arochukwu Okoro, Martins 08033429191 4 Bende Nwafor, Ngozi 08152863935 5 Ikwuano Echefue, Charles 08037868830 6 Isiala Ngwa North Onyeche, Benard 08051513419 7 Isiala Ngwa South Ogoke, N. Ola 08035365749 8 Isuikwuato Olajobi, Monday 08097949466 9 Obingwa Okorie, Peter 07067931410 10 Ohafia Bakare, Jimoh 08082539164 11 Osisioma Samuel, Anthony O. 08033091832 12 Ugwunagbo Eshiet, Martin 08162794120 13 Ukwa East Nwoke, Nwabueze 08033626434 14 Ukwa West Izuka Bridget 08035456137 15 Umuahia North Onyeledo, Wilson 08057774125 16 Umuahia South Ama, Love N.