Voters in Orlu who had thronged their polling units as early as 6.30 am, were left disenfranchised due to absence of INEC officials, voting materials.
By Emma Ogbuehi
The 2023 general elections commenced on a shaky note in Orlu, Imo state following the absence of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, voting materials in most communities in the local government area.
By 3.45 pm, some INEC staff assigned to the affected areas, had not shown up, nor any electoral materials sent to them. The communities mostly affected were Orlu Town, Amaifeke, Okporo, Mgbee, Umuna, Amike and others.
As a result of non-arrival of materials, prospective voters who had thronged their polling units as early as 6.30 am, were left disenfranchised and disappointed.
Obviously distraught indigenes who complained to our reporter on the development, blamed the INEC authorities, the state and federal government for creating a conducive environment for them to exercise their civic responsibility.
Chidiebere Ezeocha, who said he travelled down to the village from his Lagos base solely to take part in the election, regretted that the risk he took for the exercise and his enthusiasm to vote for candidates of his choice, had been made nonsense of. “how can it be explained that I took the risk of travelling home to cast my votes, abandoned my family and business for that singular purpose only to be denied the right to do so. This is grossly unfair. If the government at the state and federal level knew that they could not guarantee us an environment to vote, why did they keep claiming that they were on top of the situation? Do we now take it that it is the threats by the unknown gunmen that made the INEC and the government not grant us the opportunity to vote? he fumed.
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Another flustered resident, Victor Ike, blamed the poor situation to orchestrated agenda by the government to deny the voters in the area the freedom to vote for Peter Obi, who they said, is their preferred presidential candidate. He described the non-availability of voting materials in the area as subtle way of rigging out the candidate of their choice.
Our Reporter learnt that the absence of INEC officials and election materials in the affected areas, had to do with refusal of transport owners to release their vehicles for election duties for fear of reprisal action by unknown gunmen who had vowed that there would be no elections in the south east. A respondent who pleaded anonymity blamed the situation on the unusual influence of unknown gunmen in Orlu. He said, “the drivers are not to blame. If they release their vehicles, those Boys would come after them when the exercise is over and nobody would come to their rescue”.
The uncertain situation was said to have been communicated to the state governor, Hope Uzodimma and the INEC authorities in Imo.
Similar situation is said to be playing out in Oru East local government area. A senior journalist from the state, expressed surprise that such anomaly could take place in a zone where the governor hails from. He lamented: “What is happening? Information reaching me from Awo Omamma is that there is no form of voting going on in the entire Oru East LGA in Imo State! What is happening? A whole local government disenfranchised? There are no polling points set up and there are no signs that anything like election is going in Nigeria today. I should think that this Hope Uzodinma’s area.
