There was confusion on Saturday in Makurdi, the capital city of Benue State, as voters searched endlessly for where to cast their votes in the ongoing local government election.
Our correspondent who went around the town and visited some polling units at the NULGE office, Ankpa quarters, Wadatta, Modern Market, North Bank, and NEPA polling unit along Otukpo road and Barracks road between 10 am and 1:10 pm observed that no sign of electoral materials.
In some of the polling units visited, there were no electoral officers or election materials. just as voters claimed that they were asked to move to the ward headquarters to exercise their franchise.
At exactly 1:12 pm when our correspondent visited the NULGE polling unit, the presiding officer, Enokela Akor said he resumed at the polling unit around 7:30 am waiting for materials but up till 1:12 pm he was yet to get any information.
“The election was supposed to commence by 8:00 am and as presiding officer, I arrived around 7:30 am and this is 1:12 pm, I am yet to receive the materials,” Akor lamented.
When our correspondent visited LGEA primary school, Walomaya ward collation centre around 11:37 am where election materials ought to be distributed to all the polling units, electoral officers were seen sorting out the materials.
Some voters who spoke to our correspondent at Tilley Gyado and Agan toll gate ward collation centres expressed concern about what they described as the ‘centralisation of voting’.
A source who gave his as Aondover told our correspondent, “We visited our polling unit at the old bridge, North Bank around 9 am but we were told to come to Agan collation centre to vote and we have been here for the past two hours and we don’t understand what is happening.”
Meanwhile, the chairman of the State Independent Electoral Commission, Richard Tombowua said election was going on in all polling units across the state.
He said, “From the report across the state election is going on and there is nothing like centralised polling unit.”
Meanwhile, the State Caretaker Committee Chairman of the ruling All Progressive Congress, Benjamin Omale said that he had visited seven polling units in Makurdi before 11 am and the election was going on smoothly.
But the newly elected State Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, Ezekiel Adaji described the election as ‘rubbish’.
He said, “This is 1:58 pm, I am still seated at my polling unit at Idekpa, (headquarters of Ohimini LGA) waiting for election materials and electoral officers, we are yet to see them.
“We decided to participate in the election because we thought as a priest, he would be able to conduct a free and fair election but this is something else.”
