Ogoja-YalaDecides| Live Update: Ogoja LG Boss, Security Operatives Storm Election Venue, Disrupt Voting In Nkum-Iborr Ward
Emmanule Ishabor, the council chairman of Ogoja local government area, is claimed to have disrupted the voting process at Nkum-Iborr ward in Ogoja community.
According to eyewitness John Iddore, Ishabor came at the polling unit about 9:00 a.m., when voting had already begun, and began yanking some youngsters out of the queue, causing the process to be disrupted.
Iddore, a former ward chairman, said the chairman walked in with a stern–looking policeman who he asked to arrest certain lads on a fabricated charge, but the voters responded strongly, resulting in scuffles between PDP and APC members.
“The council chairman, an APC member, came in at 9:00 a.m. with some documents,” he claimed.
He said: “The council chairman, an APC member, came in about 9:00AM with some policemen and some thugs and started pushing voters out of line.
He molested some youths and tored on of the youths shirts and threathened to arreat some of them, Negroid Haven gathered.
“The youths resisted and insisted that the election must go. At that point, some elderly women started running helter skelter.”
Reacting to the development, the Presiding Officer, PU 002, Nkum-Iborr, Ukpi Dorcas Yohna, said: “We started on time untill i heard some noise from the second polling unit.
“I tried to find out what happened and they told me that one of the party agents didn’t have a tag identification and it situation is under control.
“We apologise for the disruption and would ensure that every voter who has turned out would cast his or her vote. We have about 961 registered voters and everybody who has turned out would vote.”
He didnt give any reason for his action.
Recall that Saturday was slated nation-wide for concurrent by-elections into national and state houses of assemblies vacant positions. In Cross River, the concurrent by-elections are taking place simultaneously in Ogoja-Yala Federal Constituency and Akpabuyo State Constituency.
