Card Readers Not Working, Party Agents Pay N2,000 Per Voter, Catholic Knight Nabbed
Information reaching 247ureports.com indicates that the Anambra State gubernatorial elections currently ongoing may have begun smoothly without glitches but unforeseen obstacles appear to have halted the smooth process.
According to the available information, the INEC [Independent National Electoral Commission] card reader which was purported to have undergone upgrades and testing, appears to have let the INEC down today. The many areas in Anambra State where it was deployed including the incumbent governor’s polling booth, the card reader failed to work.
In the many communities of Anambra State, the card reader also failed to work. Specifically in Uli, Anambra south district, at Polling Unit PU001 Uli Ward 1, the card reader failed to work. As at 1pm, the card reader was still not functional and/or operational. A voter, Chumah Mbah at the polling booth complained to 247ureports.com that the card reader did not recognize his card nor the card of his family members. “We have been hanging around here since morning”.
The same story tells itself in Enugu Ukwu, Anambra central district where the card readers have delayed the start of voting. Specifically at the Umuorji Enugu Ukwu polling booth, Unekwo Enugu Ukwu and St. Benedict polling stations were not operational. Voters who had arrived the polling stations in larger numbers were not able to vote as at 12:30pm.
Beyond the operational glitch resulting from faulty equipment, other glitches resulting from politicians threatens altering the outcome of the elections. As 247ureports.com gathered through authoritative sources, agents from the APC [All Progressive Congress] and the PDP [Peoples Democratic Party] were observed offering money in exchange for votes. Specifically, an agent of the APC, by name Raphael Enemuo of Etti village, Nanka, a Roman Catholic Knight was nabbed paying N1,500 to voters in exchange for a vote for the APC candidate. In Agbiligba village, Nanka, the PDP and APC are paying N1,000 each for votes cast for their candidates.
In Awka metropolis, the story is the same. At the Umuogbu Awka polling station, the card readers were not operational, but the card readers were bypassed. Voters were allowed to commence casting their votes. According to an eyewitness, the turnout was “impressive and encouraging”. The source added also that the PDP and APC were sharing money to voters in exchange for their votes. “The APC was paying N2,000 while PDP was paying N1,500.”
At Umuramma Sq1, Awka ward 5, units 1 to 6, the story is the same. An unidentified party agent was said to have shared N200 to each voter who voted in it’s favor. One of the voters Antonia Ogbuawa said she needed to “collect her one fair share“.
247ureports.com contacted the Head of Voter Education and Publicity of INEC, Mr. Leo Nkedife, he redirected our correspondent to contact the Commission’s hot lines instead.
