Mr. Osita Okechukwu, the Director General, Voice of Nigeria, was on Thursday attacked by some suspected thugs at a polling centre in his hometown, Eke, in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The incident occurred during the local council rerun election in the town.
Voting did not take place in Eke and Obioma wards, both in Udi LGA, during the November 4, 2017 local council polls in Enugu State.
Okechukwu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, was attacked by some youths, suspected to be working for the Peoples Democratic Party, while he was protesting the non-availability of result sheets at the polling centre, which is located at the Central School, Eke.
The thugs surrounded the VON DG and snatched his ipad and mobile phone from him.
However, the intervention of policemen, who were deployed at the polling unit, saved Okechukwu from possible physical harm at the hands of the hoodlums.
The policemen retrieved the ipad and phone from the suspected thugs and handed them over to the VON DG.
But they were not arrested.
Our correspondent observed that the suspected thugs continued to hang around the polling centre even after the intervention of the police.
Speaking with journalists shortly after the incident, Okechukwu condemned the shoddy conduct of the rerun election, noting that the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission did not correct the lapses that marred the November 4 local council polls.
The VON DG said, “The election did not hold in Eke on November 4 because the result sheets were not brought to the polling centre and it was rescheduled.
“Today, they have come here again for examination without result sheets – they have not shown us the collation result sheets.
“That was where we stopped. The same thing happened the other day. They came here again and told us the returning officer was coming with sensitive materials.
“The DPO said he called ENSIEC and they told him that this was the process. We are afraid because forms 8A and 8C are not here.”
Although a large number of voters in the ward turned out for the election, voting was delayed as a result of the disagreement over the missing result sheets.
Members of the APC believed ENSIEC handed over the result sheets to the PDP.
A similar scenario played out in Obioma, also in Udi LGA, where the rerun election also held.
Our correspondent, who visited the ward, observed that the non-availability of result sheets led to heated arguments between agents of the APC and the PDP.
The development equally delayed voting.
The results of the rerun elections were being expected as of the time of filing this report.
Source: Punch
