Ayade decries late arrival of materials

Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, yesterday, decried late arrival of election materials in Obudu Council for the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The governor, who voted at Isong Ward, said the late arrival of the materials was a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise the people of Obudu.

He said: “Well, I am surprised that the time is already gone past two o’clock and I have just cast my vote at about 2:08 p.m. We didn’t have materials until 1:00 p.m. and when the materials did arrive, there were no INEC staff available to attend to voters.
“Worryingly, according to INEC, its Rack Technology System (Rack Tech) is switched off at a certain time in Abuja, what is the possibility that my people will not be disenfranchised. This is a heavily populated area and some people are already getting tired and itching to leave out of frustration.
“What this seems to suggest is that there’s a deliberate manipulation to ensure that the votes from Obudu are lowered. This, indeed, is disturbing, to say the least. I hope INEC will allow every single person, who has come here to vote, to do so without being disenfranchised.”

The late commencement of voting in Obudu caused some tension and worries as large number of voters had gathered at various polling centres ready to vote.