Edo Polls: Complaints galore at voting centres – P.M. News
Published on July 14, 2012 by pmnews · 6 Comments
Eromosele Ebhomele
Voting is about closing at many polling centres in Edo State.
But it has been bitter complaints from voters in Edo North including the State Governor and candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Adams Oshiomhole, as election materials arrived late in some instances while in other cases, there were no materials at all.
So many of the voters in several polling booths were seen stranded with the Governor calling the INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, and other INEC Commissioners in the State for the election, fraud.
The Governor, who has not been comfortable since this morning was seen moving about his polling booth located at Iyamho Primary School, in Iyamho, a village not too far from Auchi.
The Governor said: “Jega is a fraud and I’m going to expose him,” adding that the other day, the electoral umpire was behaving naive when they met at a stakeholders’ meeting.
The Governor, who reacted to allegations that a senior INEC official in Oredo area of Benin, had deliberately hoarded materials in the area believed to be the Governor’s stronghold.
According to the Governor, who was publicly on phone to the INEC official, the official should not create a violent situation.
He threatened that the official would not go unpunished since it was same INEC official who helped rigged the Peoples democratic Party into office.
The Governor, voted at exactly 12. 55 pm, further said many people turned up and found that their names were not in the voters’ register.
“Someone told me now that in a place where 500 people registered, only 200 people were found in the register and only 50 were accredited.
“I told Jega in a petition more than a month ago that what they intended to do was to liaise with some people and he kept assuring me.”
He said the total voting population of Oredo is more than the entire Esan land and sending a suspicious INEC official to that place was uncalled for.
He accused INEC of being the weakest link in the democratic chain adding that there were areas where thumb-printing was being done in people’s houses.
He further accused INEC of intentionally delaying the materials just to ensure that the INEC official collaborate with riggers.
“I’m going to Benin now to mobilise the people to be ready. Any attempt for the PDP to rig this election will be met fire for fire,” he warned.
In Akoko-Edo, there were also complaints of late arrival of materials with accusations and counter-accusations among the two major parties in the contest.
While the former Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Tunde Akogun, said he received reports that some areas within the State had shortage of materials, he also said in some areas, the ad-hoc officials of the Commission had refused to turn up.
Currently, the security situation in Edo North could be described as commendable.
The accreditation of voters, which began early on Saturday in many parts of Edo for the governorship election in the state, went on smoothly in many areas.
The exercise took
Comments
Category: Esan
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
