The Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, on Monday in Asaba explained why it took his administration over three years to conduct local government elections.
The governor said it was not in his character to violate the stipulations of the constitution.
According to Uduaghan, the floodgate of legal tussles that trailed the re-constitution of the board of the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission at the expiration of the tenure of the previous board in 2011 was partly responsible.
Speaking at the swearing-in of the elected chairmen for the 23 out of the 25 council areas at the Cenotaph in Asaba on Monday, Governor Uduaghan said after all, “I conducted council polls in 2008.”
He continued: “Sometime in 2008, we did a local government election and the tenure of the elected officials finished in 2011, almost at the same time the tenure of the DSIEC board also finished.
“In the process of putting up a new body of DSIEC, we had legal issues that stalled the process.
“It took another year to resolve that and when we finally constituted the board, it took them time to settle down and about two years to conduct this election. So, that accounted for the three years delay in the conduct of council polls.”
While urging DSIEC to fast-track the conduct of elections in the two councils of Ethiope East and Ndokwa East, where the exercise was inconclusive, Dr. Uduaghan urged the newly sworn-in chairmen to consolidate on people-oriented projects of the previous administration.
He also advised them to sustain the peace and security in their respective councils as well as key into his administration’s drive to develop the state economy without oil revenue.
Meanwhile, the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress has decried the outcome of the election, alleging that the ruling PDP hijacked the exercise.
While calling for a total cancellation of the results of the exercise, maintaining that “it does not reflect the will of the people”, the Publicity Secretary of the party, Isaac Adaka Adakpo, told newsmen at the party’s headquarters in Asaba that DSIEC abdicated its functions for chieftains of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, whose chairmanship candidates have been declared winners in the 23 councils.
Adakpo alleged that the elections were fraught with violence and gross irregularities, adding that if the election results were not cancelled, the APC had overwhelming evidence to proof its case at the courts.
He said: “DSIEC abdicated its responsibility to top government functionaries in the ruling party.
“That is why we will continue to say that elections would be better contested and challenged under the Independent National Electoral Commission.”