In Benue, angry reactions trail postponement of polls

Like elsewhere in the country, prospective voters in Benue State turned out in their numbers to participate in last Saturday’s National Assembly elections. With the postponement of the polls midway, they all went home disappointed but not without expressing their feelings.

ECHE Omochi (55), a retired military officer who resides in Otukpo in Benue South senatorial zone had several plans on Saturday April 2, 2011. Certainly, casting his vote for candidates of his choice in the earlier scheduled National Assembly elections was one of such plans.

To actualise this plan, Omochi arrived at the Echiho-Otukpo polling unit, where he had registered and obtained his voters’ card, as early as 7:30 am with the intention of getting accredited early enough. He was soon joined by scores of other prospective voters who formed a long queue and began a waiting game hoping to be accredited.

By 9:30am when this reporter got to the Ehicho-Otukpo polling unit on a monitoring exercise, he was mistaken for an INEC official. Several other prospective voters who had left the long queue temporarily to take some shelter under a big mango tree rushed back on the queue thinking the accreditation would now commence.

They were disappointed upon discovery that the election duty tag that hung on my neck bore the inscription: PRESS. Nonetheless my presence provided an opportunity for some of them to bare their minds.

“I have been here as early as 7:30am for accreditation but neither INEC officials nor electoral materials have been seen. But I am prepared to, for as long as possible get accredited to not only vote but ensure that my vote is counted”, said Omochi.

Several other prospective voters who stood patiently on the long queue expressed their willingness to remain standing until they get accredited to participate in the elections.

The situation was the same at the VIP Oturkpo club polling unit where the Senate President, David Mark, was expected to be accredited and to vote. By 10: am accreditation had not commenced at the unit because there was no INEC official to attend to the waiting prospective voters. In the absence of the electoral officials, Onyinokwu Simon Oden, a 29-year old banker, volunteered to serve as a “temporary presiding officer.” Odeh provided a register in which he mobilized people to put down their names on a first come first register basis.

By about 11:am some youth corps members arrived the polling unit causing a dramatic stampede as those who had written their names in Odeh’s improvised register rushed to take their positions on the queue. Not long after, the Senate President, David Mark, arrived the polling unit with his wife, Helen and both were quickly accredited.

But no sooner had Mark done his accreditation than rumours started filtering round that the National Assembly polls scheduled for last Saturday were postponed. Consequently, the sweat soaked faces of prospective voters on the queue started bearing the furrows of sorrow!

Apart from Otukpo, prospective voters in Makurdi, Gboko and Katsina-Ala, Local Government Areas, who waited for hours on queues to exercise their franchise, expressed anger and disappointment alleging that the postponement was a ploy by PDP to re-strategise on ways of rigging themselves back to power.

While Mr Ejike Okafor from Katsina-Ala alleged that some political parties were out to frustrate the effort of INEC boss, Mr. Andrew Najime from Makurdi said that many politicians would receive a shock after the election because the opposition would sweep most of the seats.

Soon, there was a floodgate of reactions, intoned with outrage and anger, by candidates of some political parties as well as top political figures from Benue State. While some described it a “national embarrassment” on the part of INEC others expressed disappointment but said it was a welcome decision aimed at ensuring credible elections.

Senate President Mark described the suspension of the election as an anti-climax while Governor Gabriel Suswam said the suspension was “a national embarrassment describing INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, as a failure to Nigerians.

Mark who spoke with reporters shortly after doing his accreditation in Otukpo said INEC has fallen short of the expectations of Nigerians who came out in large numbers to cast their votes.

Speaking through his Special Adviser, Media, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan and Political Adviser, Mike Omeri, Senator Mark, however, urged INEC to do everything possible to make Monday’s date a reality while also appealing to Nigerians not to despair in the electoral process.

Governor Suswam who got accredited at the Government House Polling unit, described the postponement as an embarrassment. Suswam said INEC had wasted time and resources, stressing that the postponement has created apprehension as most Nigerians were now unsure of what would happen next.

In his own reaction, ANPP governorship candidate for Benue State, Professor Daniel Saror, congratulated INEC for taking the decision which, he said, was to ensure credible polls. “Every Nigerian was hoping to exercise their right and effect change in Nigeria but the PDP government wanted to frustrate the change. So I congratulate INEC for standing firm”, Saror said.

Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, a retired Commissioner of Police, who described the postponement as “a national disgrace and shame”, said that INEC was not ready for the election. “With all the time at their disposal coupled with many months of preparation and the billions of naira made available, Prof. Jega’s INEC is not ready for elections”, Tsav said.

By press time, there was a cloud of uncertainty in Benue as INEC further announced the shift in the rescheduled National Assembly polls to Saturday April 9th. The question is what would happen in the rescheduled national assembly polls in Benue?  As things stand, analysts say the contest in Benue in all the elections is now between the ruling PDP and the opposition ACN. While supporters of the latter continue to wield their brooms chanting their “change” slogan, those of the former are maintaining that the status quo be maintained.

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