Despite an impressive turnout of voters, late arrival of voting materials and presiding officers at Umuahia, Aba and other areas marred yesterday’s elections in Abia State.
At Urban School One polling station in Umuahia Township, which houses about 10 polling units, accreditation commenced about 10.20am in about four while presiding officers for the rest hadn’t yet arrived by then.
Meanwhile, at the INEC state office in Umuahia, many officials waiting to be conveyed to their polling units were still there as at 9.30am when The Guardian visited the place.
It was, however, observed that before the arrival of materials and officials in many polling units, many voters were not sure of their voting units and were advised to visit the website of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to confirm where they were to vote.
Many of the affected voters did not have Android phones to go through the process while those that had complained of no data. Voters who succeeded in identifying their polling units complained of the cost of reaching those places.
But Mr. John Oke and some others told The Guardian that they were determined to cast their votes no matter the obstacles and headed to their new polling units.
In Aba, voters defied a sudden rainfall to cast their votes for their preferred candidates.
It was learnt that the rain, which was heavy in Ogbor Hill area, started about 11.40am, but couldn’t stop voters from queuing to be accredited to vote.
Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, after casting his vote along with his wife, Nkechi, about 11.20 am at their Umuebere, Ward 7, Unit 032 in Umuobiakwa in Obingwa local council, however, expressed satisfaction with the process of accreditation and voting in some parts of the state.
He also expressed happiness with the large turnout of voters at the centre but decried the late arrival of voting materials in some centres across the state.
He consequently tasked INEC to ensure that materials get to all the voting centres to ensure that some electorates would not be disenfranchised.
He appealed to the people to wait patiently and cast their votes, expressing optimism that he would record 95 per cent victory at the poll.
A former governor of the state and senator representing Abia Central Senatorial District, Chief Theodore Orji, who voted at Ugba Primary School Polling Unit, also commended the process.
