Ballots or Bullets? The Anambra State Governorship Election

On November 6, 2021, the over 2.5 million registered voters in Anambra State are scheduled to elect a new governor. In the last eight years, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)-led Obiano administration has occupied the saddle in the gateway state to the South-East. Over the years, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have attempted to wrest power from APGA in the state without success. The upcoming November election promises to be as competitive as ever, if not more. However, the major threat confronting Anambra State at the moment is not directly from the power contenders. The threat in the South-East in general and Anambra State, in particular, emanates from hoodlums who hide under pro-Biafra agitations to perpetrate criminal violence.

In recent months, no single day has passed without reported cases of robbery, assassination, abduction and attacks on public facilities by the so-called \’unknown gunmen\’. While members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), especially its paramilitary wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), have been indicted for the atrocities, they have denied complicity. The violent atmosphere does not only destroy lives and investments. It is also a direct threat to the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Anambra State and Nigeria\’s democratisation in general.

Thus, this edition of Nextier SPD Policy Weekly examines the security challenges militating against the 2021 Anambra State governorship election and highlights what needs to be done to contain the threat.

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