Nigerians yesterday gave effect to their renewed distaste for electoral manipulation when they rose in opposition to rigging during yesterday�s local government election held in states controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The polling was marred by violence while opposition political parties boycotted.
In Enugu and Oyo States, four persons were killed while 130 others were arrested. But in Edo State, arson was used as an instrument of protest against electoral manipulation in parts of the state.
Two of the victims feared dead were attacked when violence broke out at Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of Enugu State following a clash between members of the People�s Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) during the local government election in the state. Three buses were burnt in the process.
Although details of the cause of the violence and the identity of the two people who lost their lives could not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report, unconfirmed sources said the two persons died as fight broke out between members of PDP and LP at Ibagwa Aka near a polling station.
Reports from Oyo State indicate that two people were feared dead while five others were injured in a gun shot battle in Igbo-Ora. Many others were believed to be injured in the fracas.
But the state governor, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala and chairman of the State Independent Election Commission (SIEC), Olasunkanmi Olaleye gave the poll a clean bill of health. The two men described the election as the most credible polls conducted in the state because, according to them the electoral agency actively engaged all stakeholders including political party representatives in all the plans leading to the election.
Speaking at the end of the exercise, the Commissioner of Police, Prince Udom Ekpo-Udom, said 130 suspects were arrested at various locations in the state.
He said the suspects were arrested for offences which included snatching of ballot papers and boxes as well as thump printing of ballot papers in private houses.
Some others were arrested for burning of electoral materials and being in possession of Indian hemp and dangerous weapons such as axes and cutlasses.
He said the police were also investigating the chairmanship candidate of one of the political parties for his involvement in the illegalities.
“In fact, a chairmanship candidate of one of the political parties was said to have encouraged some of the suspects to thump print in a private residence for him.
”We are still investigating the complaint and l can assure you that he will be charged to court if found culpable”, he said.
The commissioner said that those arrested would be charged to court immediately.
The violence in Edo State led to the razing of both the federal and state electoral commission offices in Owan East, Orhionmwon, Akoko-Edo and Igueben local government areas.
It took almost 700 armed policemen to foil what would have been a major violence as the offices of both the state and federal electoral commission in Benin were under heavy guard by armed policemen.
In Benin City, electoral materials did not arrive the various polling units until 3pm for an exercise that was scheduled to end at 4pm .
The electoral materials were flown to Benin in an Air Force plane on Friday night, but the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC), for reasons best known to it, started distributing the materials at about 12noon yesterday.
Addressing journalists in Benin City, at about 6:40 pm, the Action Congress (AC) gubernatorial candidate, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, said the position of his party from the onset was that the Justice Anthony Okunega-led EDSIEC can never organise any elections because its chairman is a card carrying member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He said the confusion and mayhem that featured at the election showed the poor preparation of the commission to organise any election.
Also speaking to THISDAY, the state publicity secretary of AC, Mr. Reti Uzzi said the election was a sham and a rape on democracy. He said so long as the chairman and secretary of EDSIEC are card carrying members of the PDP, they can never organise any credible election.
In most streets in Oredo council, ballot papers littered the roads by 5pm as the police had to be collecting them. Nobody knew how the ballot papers got there. All efforts to get the chairman of EDSIEC, Justice Okunega to comment on the issue proved abortive as he was said to be seeking refuge in Government House.
A report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that monitored the exercise in Edo State reported that two offices belonging to the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) were burnt by a mob, while some officials of the commission were manhandled.
It was observed that the PDP, AC and ANPP were engaged in keen competition for the chairmanship seats in the 18 local government areas of the state.
Figures show that there are 49 chairmanship candidates and 454 councillorship candidates.
The SIEC said 11,000 electoral officers were deployed to the 2,600 polling booths.
The State Police Command also said that it had deployed 7,000 men for the elections.
However, in Ogun State other politicial parties, leaving only the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to win the 20 LGAs unopposed.
The All Nigeria People Party (ANPP) which has its stronghold in Ipokia Council area of the State had signified its intention to participate in the council elections, but its candidates schemed out because he could not obtain tax clearance from the Ogun State Board of Internal Revenue (BIR)
Apathy and low turnout characterised the election in Ondo State as many eligible voters stayed in their various homes in protest against what they called a pre-determined contest.
The Chairman of the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC), Mr Jones Ogunmusire, had on Friday told newsmen that five political parties, PDP, Alliance for Democracy (AD), Action Congress (AC), Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) and Accord Party would participate in the exercise.
The major opposition party in the state, Labour Party (LP) made good its resolve not to participate in the election because its leaders referred to accused the electoral commission of not providing level playing field for the competing parties.
Its candidate, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko commended the people of the state for boycotting the LGA election. He said the people had by the boycott of the polls shown that they have respect for the rule of law.
Mimiko who spoke through his Media Assistant, Mr. Kolawole Olabisi, said by boycotting the election which he alleged was conducted in defiance of a court order, the aparty that characterised the exercise was a silent protest by the people against the electoral malpractices which he said attended even the last governorship election in the state held on April 12.
In Ekiti State, the election was put off at the last minute by the State Independent Election Commission. But the governorship candidate of the Action Congress (AC), in the April election, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, at a rally said “with the recent revelations being churned out by witnesses at the tribunal in Ado-Ekiti, it was evident that the party will soon get justice at the end of the day.”
Dec162007