By Olusegun Adeosun
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has condemned alleged disenfranchisement of the internally displaced persons, IDPs, in the state.
The governor made the declaration after casting his vote, alongside his wife, on Saturday. “I am disappointed,” he said. “The IDPs are disappointed for not being able to vote. There are I80,000 registered voters, IDPs. This is not fair but we are keeping faith.”
The governor also condemned the alleged intimidation of his party (PDP) state agents. “Head of our state agents was arrested on the excuse of training thugs. This will not be allowed. They are heating up the polity.”
Meanwhile, Festus Okoye, National Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the commission had made arrangement for the IDPs. “We designed a framework,” he said. “The IDPs will vote at registered areas. I supervised the arrangement in Benue, Anambra, Enugu, but we will rise to the challenge and find out what really went wrong.”
The governor, however, expressed satisfaction with the voting process. “I am happy,” he declared. “It has been very peaceful. This is what we are calling for and we expect more of this.”