Late arrival of materials characterise Saturday’s polls in Abia

The late arrival of materials at the 198 wards in Abia State marred the timely commencement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections in the state on Saturday.

The News Agency of Nigeria correspondents, who monitored the exercise, reports that although voters started turning up in trickles from about 7:30am for the exercise, ballot materials only began to arrive from about 10:30am in most of the centres visited.

At Ugba Primary School in Umuahia North Local Government Area, voters expressed disappointment that as at 10:30am, INEC officials and adhoc staff were yet to arrive at the poling centre with materials for the exercise

At Umuokeyi Units 12 and 13, voters and party agents, started arriving at the centre as early as 7:50am but INEC officials and adhoc staff were not seen to begin the election until about 11:15am.

Also at polling unit 7 on Library Avenue and unit 33 at the Post Office both in Umuahia, election materials as well as INEC officials and voters were yet to arrive as at 8:40am.

The situation was the same in Olokoro in Umuahia South LGA, Isuikwuato, Ukwa East and West, Aba North and South LGAs, where voters, who reportedly turned out early in the morning, waited patiently for the arrival of election materials and INEC officials up until 11am.

At Onuaku Primary School Polling Centre in Isuikwuato LGA, the Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Uche Ogah, complained that materials were yet to arrive at the place as at 10. 30 am.

Ogah expressed the need for INEC to extend the time for the conclusion of voting beyond 2pm “in order to enable voters to exercise their franchise”.

At Item Ward C, polling unit 003, election materials arrived at about 11:45am and voting commenced at about 12.23 pm.

Chief Cosmos Ndukwe, the Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly, decried the delay in the distribution of election materials to the area.

Ndukwe, who voted at Item polling unit 004, said the late arrival of materials at the centre would disenfranchise many eligible voters, if INEC failed to extend the time for voting.

NAN reports that there was visible presence of party agents but few security operatives at the polling centres visited.

Heavily armed military personnel also mounted checkpoints at strategic points in Umuahia metropolis and major highways in the state to enforce movement restriction.

An INEC adhoc staff member at Umuahia North told NAN on the condition of anonymity that the delay in the distribution of materials was caused by logistics problems.

He said: “We slept in INEC office with the hope that the distribution of materials would be completed by 7:30am.

“But up until now we are yet to receive our own materials and this is frustrating.

“I am hopeful that in no distant time we would leave here for our place of assignment for the election exercise.”