Politics
Kudos, knocks trail Imo 2024 LGA elections
Claims and counterclaims generally greeted the long-awaited and much-talked-about Imo State 2024 Local Government Area/ Council elections organized by the state-controlled electoral body, ISIEC.
The governor, Sen Hope Uzodimma, had pledged during his second term inauguration that he would conduct LGA chairmanship as well as councilorship elections within six months of resumption. After several postponements, the elections were scheduled for Saturday, September 21, 2024.
Following the Supreme Court judgment which ultimately gave fiscal autonomy to the 774 Local Government Areas in the country as federating units, insinuations were ripe that the local government elections would usher in a new lease of socioeconomic as well as politico-cultural development in the state.
Significantly, it was expected that since there are four major political parties in the state: APC, PDP, LP, and APGA – the LGA/Council polls would be free, fair, and transparent. Thus, all but LP indicated interest in the elections held last Saturday.
Addressing journalists a few days before the September 21, 2024 elections, the chairman of, the Imo State Electoral Commission, Charles Ejiogu, noted that the body was ready to conduct a credible election that would usher in elected LGA chairmen and councilors.
According to him, “I can assure you that the state electoral body is ready. We have done our diligence to the best of our ability. We have taken care to ensure that all the materials for the election are procured and protected.
“Our workers here have been given training on how best to go about their duties on election day without encountering encumbrances. We have been working harmoniously with the relevant security agencies to ensure an orderly as well as peaceful conduct of the elections. Indeed, we are satisfied with every arrangement regarding our preparedness for the LGA/Council elections”.
Business Hallmark can authoritatively confirm that most registered voters who thronged to the polling units in their wards to cast elections expressed dismay even as they felt disappointed in what they called “selection” (rather than election).
For instance, in Egbu Ward in Owerri North Local Government Area, the voters claimed that materials for the election never arrived, insisting there was no election of any kind in the area.
“I am here because I listened to the chairman of the electoral body in the state on national television where he guaranteed there would be a free and fair election today.
“I have been here since 10 am and it is already after 1 pm and the election materials are not here. It usually takes at least 90 minutes for the election officials to sort out the materials. Even if they arrive now and I doubt that, when will voting start? When will it end? And how many voters will effectively cast their votes? The government has done its usual selection rather than an election”, Amanze Nwanna, a disillusioned voter at Jerusalem polling unit, Egbu with 18 polling units, lamented.
It was the same scenario in Uvuru Ward 1, Aboh Mbaise, where a woman, Eucharia Opara, lashed out at whoever had a hand in what she described as the “worst election I have ever witnessed not just in Imo but in Nigeria at large.
She said, “The essence of this election is to improve democratic processes, upgrade political growth as well cause agricultural, educational, and cultural revolution at the grassroots level. Can these great feats be accomplished under such a horrendous sham called election?
“All of us here, (pointing at the other equally stranded voters who were also grumbling at the shoddy conduct of this election), have come from far distances. And so, we are exhausted and tired.
“There is no sign that this election is being conducted today. At the end of the day, an unknown or grossly not qualified character will be announced as our chairman and councilors. How can things move right “?
Expectedly, the Imo APC leaders defended the conduct of the election. The chairman of APC in the state, Sir MacDonald Ebere ( PhD), said the election was free, fair, and transparent.
“The election today went smoothly. It was free, fair and transparent. There were initial hitches in transporting the election materials to their appropriate destination. Yet, the election went smoothly”, Ebere clarified.
In his submission, the publicity secretary of APC, Mr. Cajetan Duke Akuta, revealed that the election was conducted in the most friendly atmosphere. “The election has come and gone. Winners and losers have emerged.
“The former are celebrating and rejoicing while the latter are complaining and rejecting the election outcome. It is normal. The election’s atmosphere was quite conducive. We can only congratulate those who have been declared winners while urging losers to try again in the next election”.
A visit to Owerri, Orlu, and Okigwe zones and their various wards truly showed that elections never started at the time Business Hallmark visited the area due to the non-availability of election materials. Thus, voters were stranded waiting for the arrival of the sensitive materials and election officers.
