Delta rerun: Uduaghan, Ogboru in tight race
There were strong indications on Thursday that the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Dr. Emmanuel Udughan, and his Democratic Peoples Party counterpart, Chief Great Ogboru, were in tight race in the Delta State governorship rerun.
Although the official results were, as at 9pm on Thursday, being collated by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission in the state, feelers from Local Government Areas showed that the two politicians were leading the other candidates.
For instance, in Egborodo in Okpe and Mosogar and Ethiope-West Local Government Area, Uduaghan was said to have beaten Ogboru and the other 12 candidates in the contest. But in in Uvwie and Effurun, Ogboru is believed to have won by a landslide.
However, late arrival of poll materials, inability of voters to locate their names on voter register and ballot snatching in Sapele were the dark spots of the rerun.
The late arrival of materials at most of the polling centres in the state consequently delayed the commencement of both accreditation and voting.
Accreditation was to begin by 9am but in most centres visited by our correspondents, it started more than two hours behind schedule.
Some of the centres are Oshimili North, Aniocha-South, Aniocha-North, Ika North East, Ika South, Oshimili South and Oshimili North, Warri-South, and Ughelli- North Local Government Areas.
An official of the Independent National Electoral Commission told the News Agency of Nigeria that accreditation started late because electoral materials to the polling centres.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, personally monitored voting in some local government areas in the state, especially in Warri and Ughelli.
The election was generally peaceful in most council areas of the state except in Warri-South, Ughelli-North, Sapele and Uvwie where there were skirmishes.
In Sapele ballot boxes were allegedly snatched from INEC officials by people believed to be party thugs while in Uvwie the election was cancelled .
A Democratic Peoples Party senatorial aspirant for Delta Central, Chief Umuaya Dafinone, told one of our correspondents that he and his supporters who went to vote at Ward on Reclamation Road were severely beaten.
“Our opponents resorted to fighting us because they saw that our party was winning,” Dafinone stated.
There was also report of heavy shooting at Pessu area in Warri- South LGA where some armed youths invaded a polling centre to hijack ballot boxes.
Uduaghan, the Peoples Democratic Party candidate had his accreditation at 11:01am in his home town, Abigborodo, Warri- South LGA.
Uduaghan arrived the venue in company with his wife, supporters and security officers after a boat ride from Koko waterside.
The Deputy Governorship candidate of the Republican Party of Nigeria, Mrs. Carol Enuha, who was oner of those that had difficulty tracing her name on the voter register at her voting centre at Oliha Primary School, Ogwashi-Uku, vowed to take up the matter with INEC.
“Names are not in alphabetical order. Those who have registered should be allowed to vote,” Enuha said.
Though voter turnout was very low in Ibusa and Ogwashi-Uku, heavy presence of security agents was noticed.
Officers of the police, civil defence corps, immigration and prison services were seen around the various units in the town.
At the Uzoigwe polling unit in Asaba, angry voters, who could not find their names in the voter register, expressed anger when Jega, visited the centre.
At the Asaba Girls Grammar School polling units, many voters also complained of not finding their names on the voter register.
Mrs Linda Ofili, a civil servant in ward nine in Asaba Girls Grammar School, said, “We came here since 9am. but INEC officials could not even find our names in the voter register.”
Another voter at Aniocha South, Mr. Greg Osemele, said there was a general mix-up in the names of voters on the register.
INEC had said earlier in Asaba on Thursday that it accredited 12 groups from the United States to observe the governorship re-run in Delta.
The Spokesman for INEC in Delta, Mr. Livvy Unigwe, said that 30 domestic observers were also accredited to monitor the exercise.
Unigwe said that the U.S. observers were under the auspices of her Embassy in Nigeria and that the groups were the only international observers accredited for the election.
He pointed out, however, that the U.S. Embassy was the only international organisation that applied to participate in the election as monitors
He said that some of the groups were USAID and the Political, Economic and Security Sections of the Consul-General’s Office.
The local observers, according to him, are Human Rights Monitor, Centre for Intervention, Science and Economic Development Organisation, Wibama, Global Initiative for African Development and Northern Patriotic Front.
Others are Transparency Movement, Global Observers for Civic Rights Initiative, Justice and Equity Organisation, Global Women Initiative for positive Change and Centre for Strategic Conflict Management.
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