Boycott, Voter Apathy Trail Ebonyi LG Polls

Last Saturday’s local
government election in Ebonyi  State suffered a boycott by opposition parties as only the ruling PDP presented candidates for the exercise.
The other political parties declined to field candidates for the elections, saying there was no level playing ground.
The situation left only the PDP to contest for the 13 chairmanship positions and 215 councillorship seats.
Materials for the election were distributed as early as 8 a.m. in all the local government headquarters. At Ohaukwu local government, top government officials conducted the people and helped to supervise the distribution of the materials.
The Commissioner for Education, Mr Chibueze Ndubuisi-Agbo, described the exercise as orderly and calm.
The PDP chairmanship candidate in the local government, Mrs Chinyere Elom, said the distribution of the materials had been peaceful and smooth.
The presiding officer for Effium Ward II, Peter Idika, decried the low-turnout of voters for the election.
“We received the materials for the election on time yet the people are nowhere to be seen. They just trickle in and leisurely. This attitude does not portend enthusiasm on the part of the electorate,’’ he said.
At the Abakaliki Local Government Area, the situation was the same as voter apathy characterised the exercise.
The electoral officer for the area, Mr James Omeri, said that the distribution of materials started early.
At Alike Square, the presiding officer, Gloria Morgan, said accreditation of voters had not started as at 10 a.m. because they had not started showing up.
At 11 a.m., no single voter had visited the polling units in Izzi Local Government Area just as there was no security presence.
Also at Igbeagu Ward I, the presiding officer, Lawrence Mbeke, told newsmen that only one potential voter had been accredited by 11:15 a.m. while there was only a few voters at the TTC polling unit.
Mr Andrew Nkwuda, a former vice chairman of the local government, said he appreciated the smooth arrangement of the electoral process.
Meanwhile, the Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission has declared candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), winners of the local council poll held on Saturday.
Chairman of the commission, Chief John Nkwuda, who declared the results on Sunday, said the PDP won the chairmanship and counsellorship seats in all the 13 local government areas of the state.
According to him, the APC had fielded candidate for the chairmanship seat of Ezza South Local Government while APGA had a candidate for councillor in Nsokara ward of the same council.
Nkwuda congratulated the winners and urged those who lost to wait for another opportunity.
He described the elections as “free, fair, devoid of violence and other forms of irregularities”.