By Leonard Okachie
The INEC Staff Welfare Association (ISWA), Abia chapter, on Tuesday held its end-of-year party in style.
The party which held at the INEC secretariat in Umuahia, brought together the staff of the commission across the state.
The staff who expressed gratitude to God for sustaining them in 2024, danced to the melodious songs.
The party was preceded by the association’s annual general meeting.
Highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of the Best Staff of Year to Mrs Ngozi Nwafor, a Director in INEC, in recognition of her dedication and hard work towards the growth of ISWA in Abia.
Interacting with newsmen, the Chairman of ISWA, Mr Collins Eze said that the party was special as it afforded the staff the opportunity to wine and dine together as well as thank God for His benevolence.
Eze said that his leadership had introduced various means of assisting members in dire financial needs by providing platforms to solicit for their support.
He expressed gratitude to members for their support and cooperation, while describing them as the “secret behind the success of this administration.”
The chairman explained that 34 out of about 350 staff of the commission in the state retired from the service in 2024.
He stressed that the development had placed a huge financial burden on the association in terms of their welfare and entitlement as members.
The chairman advised members to uphold the integrity of the commission by guarding against any form of manipulation during elections.
He said: “We have also told our colleagues that anywhere they find themselves they should make sure that they do the needful by ensuring transparency in the conduct of elections.
“We have always told them not to allow anybody to induce them with money in order to manipulate election results.
“I’m happy that they have been building the capacity of our colleagues on election process.
“So, in the coming years, we don’t have any problem in ensuring free, fair and peaceful elections.”(NAN)
