INEC ad hoc staff held hostage in Warri South regain freedom

Three ad-hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta, allegedly held hostage on Sunday have been freed.

The Warri South INEC Electoral Officer, Mr Kingsley Ogboe, confirmed this to newsmen in Warri on Monday.

Ogboe, who said he was not authorised to speak to journalists, however, said “they were released at about 11:00 p.m. on Sunday”.

The electoral officer, who declined further comment simply said, “we are waiting for the results from other local government areas”.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the victims: Yetunde Adeleke, Stephanie Udoh and Theresa Igien, all female were allegedly held by angry voters at Oki 1, off Okere Road, Ward 5, unit 19.

They were allegedly held hostage after the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) brought for the Presidential and National Assembly elections in the unit reportedly crashed.

Angered by the development, the voters, who had waited endlessly on Saturday and Sunday to exercise their franchise, got infuriated and decided to hold them hostage.

One of the victims, Adeleke told newsmen that the BVAS brought to the unit was configured for Saturday and there was no back up for them.

However, the angry voters said that they were infuriated because the adhoc staff wanted to resort to manual voting as an alternative

Nigerian Diasporas promise to pursue election voting

against the acceptable norms of the use of BVAS.

“Instead of seeking for a solution, they said that they would conduct the voting manually and that is not acceptable by us,” they said.

The voters also accused the electoral officers of being compromised by way of trying to disenfranchise them. Meanwhile, as at the time of filing this report, collation of results have not started in Warri South. (NAN)

Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation – Americas (NIDOA) has promised to continue its cause for Diaspora voting, to achieve desired goals in future elections.

Mr Obed Monago, a former Chair of NIDOA, said this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday.

He spoke on the sidelines of the ongoing Presidential and National Assembly elections in the country.

”About diaspora voting, it is quite unfortunate that the Federal Government did not deem it fit to pass it into law, even after it went for the second reading.

“Eventually, it was voted down, so it is really quite unfortunate that government did not put into consideration the contribution and the impact of the Diasporas to the socio-economic wellbeing of Nigeria.

“The thinking is basically not welcome, but we are not relenting; we are going to take up the fight this time.

“It is going to be more organised and we are going to take it up with the incoming National Assembly too, hopefully this time we are going to prevail.

“Hopefully, during the next electoral cycle, four years from now, we will be voting.”

L-R: Proprietor, Augustine University Ilara (UAI) and the Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos Archbishop Alfred Adewale Martins; Chancellor, Mr. Femi Otedola, CON; his mother and former First Lady of Lagos State, Lady Doja Otedola, Chairman Board of Trustee and Chairman, AUI Fund Raising Committee, Sir Steve Omojafor, and Pro-Chancellor, AUI, Chief Gilbert T. Grant, during the inauguration of the completed first block of the Faculty of Engineering complex and the laying of foundation for block 2 and 3, donated to Augustine University in Epe by Femi Otedola, in Lagos on Wednesday