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Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has hailed the Independent National Electoral Commission for ensuring that accreditation and voting were done at the same time during Wednesday’s governorship election in the state.
Speaking after casting his vote at Iyamho Primary School, Etsako West Local Government Area at 11.13am, Oshiomhole said he was impressed with the large voter turnout. However, he said there were some incidents in some parts of the state, which the security agencies and INEC should look into.
The governor said, “I have always wondered why INEC wants people to wait after being accredited and start later. For the middle-class, that was not something many of them could cope with. For the poor, they have had to carry the burden of our democracy by waiting the whole day. So, I believe that INEC has made a sensible improvement.
“You get accredited, you vote and you go home. It doesn’t have to cost you the whole day. I think this is a very civilised way of doing it. If every other thing goes perfect, this is good. This is more of a victory for the middle-class who cannot stand under the sun and in the rain.”
While hailing the orderly manner at his polling unit, Oshiomhole said, “I believe this is a perfect example of the way it should be, but I cannot tell you that this is the way it is in other places because I have not been to those places. But I have received a report just now from the Onojie of Opoji that PDP thugs removed the card readers in order to prevent the people of Opoji from voting. So, we are dealing with that because the people have a right to vote. That right cannot be compromised, and INEC has a duty, a non-negotiable duty to ensure that the people of Opoji have a right to vote.
He said he got reports of gunshots at Okpella, saying his party (APC) had warned security agencies about the possibility of violence in the area more than three weeks ago.
Oshiomhole said, “I have also received reports that a former member of the House of Assembly at Emu in Esan South-East, noticing that the people were not voting for the PDP, shot indiscriminately.”
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Source: Punch News