MINISTER, OTHERS LAUD INEC OVER GOVERNORSHIP, ASSEMBLY POLLS

By – Memoye Oghu (Port Harcourt)

The Minister of State for Environment, Hon Udi Odum and other political chieftains have commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the smooth conduct of the governorship and Houses of Assembly elections last Saturday March 18.

Although, they acknowledged that there were no BVAS issues in their Abua/Odual Local Government Area during the last election, this one was an improvement on the February 25, 2023 presidential poll and advised INEC to be “up and doing.”

They spoke to our Correspondent who monitored the last Saturday March 18 governorship and Houses of Assembly election in Abua/Odual Local Government Area of Rivers state and reported that the exercise was smooth and peaceful across the LGA.

The Minister of State for Environment, Hon Udi Odum who spoke to our Correspondent shortly after voting in his Unit 4, Ogbema Town Hall in ward one said it took him less than a minute to be accredited and vote. Reacting to questions from newsmen, he said, “it has been very peaceful. It took me less than a minute to be accredited and vote. This one is better than the February 25 presidential election. INEC should be up and doing.”

The LGA chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon Oye Fubara Igenewari who voted in his unit in Emoh community in ward eight commended INEC because, “between 8-8:30am, all election materials and personnel were on ground in all the 56 polling units in Okpeden.”

“I’ve just voted and it’s peaceful as you can see. You vote whoever you desire. The BVAS worked perfectly well. It didn’t take me up to three minutes, from the accreditation to voting. INEC has done very well as far as the polling units in Okpeden in ward eight are concerned,” he stated.

In the same vein, a former Caretaker Committee chairman of the LGA and a PDP chieftain in ward two, who incidentally has his younger cousin contesting the state House of Assembly election on another political party observed, “this one is very smooth. It didn’t take me two minutes to be accredited and vote.”

On why he didn’t vote for his cousin, he said, “I didn’t vote for him. Well, I’m a party man. Politics is more about interest and my interest is about PDP. My expectation is that INEC is able to upload the results into their portal.”

On his part, another chieftain of the party in ward two of the LGA and a retired Permanent Secretary, Mr Kikpoye Philip also said that it took him less than a minute to be accredited and vote. “I voted in unit four, Okana Town Hall in ward two. It took me less than 45 seconds to be accredited. The BVAS in my unit here was okay. We didn’t experience any hitches.”