A possible insight into what 2015 offers for Delta State could be demonstrated in tomorrow’s local government election in the state.
The much awaited local government elections into the 25 local government councils in Delta State come up tomorrow with the ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in pole position to sweep all chairmanship and councillorship positions on offer.
Tomorrow’s election follows the exit of the last democratically elected local government officials in 2011. Since then, the local governments have been run by caretaker administrators appointed by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan with the approval of the State House of Assembly.
Though more than ten political parties are involved in the contest, the opposition political parties with the exception of some in some selected local governments shown much seriousness in the campaign preceding tomorrow’s election.
It is indeed no surprise that once the PDP concluded its primaries last August that the winners in many of the local governments immediately took the garb of chairmen and councillors waiting for tomorrow’s event as a coronation.
Besides the PDP, the other parties contesting for positions in tomorrow’s election are the All Progressives Congress, APC, Accord, All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Peoples Democratic Movement, PDM, Social Democratic Party, SDP, Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN.
The obstacle to the conduct of the local government election had been the legal constraint raised against the constitution of a new board for the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission, DSIEC. That constraint was finally removed last year after the judicial case brought by some stakeholders was finally resolved.
The case had given way for the governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan to appoint sole administrators for the local governments, a development that was not in total conformity with constitutional provisions guaranteeing unabridged democracy at the local government level.
Following the development a board headed by Mr. Moses Ogbe was inaugurated by the governor and the commission on May 13, 2014 issued a notice and time-table for the elections with the party primaries scheduled for between June and August 15, 2014.
Remarkably, the primaries by the PDP on August 9 was itself more heated than the election coming up this weekend.
But that, however, would not relegate the determination of the security agencies to provide a security cordon for the election.
It was gathered that the military is expected to join the police and other civil defence agencies in ensuring a smooth conduct of the election.
A chieftain of the Labour Party in the State, Chief Lance Orhierhor said; “We are prepared but our fear is that DSIEC is said to be printing two sets of materials for the election.
For once, we should learn to do things right; we don’t need to fight over local government elections.
Results are expected to be declared at units and wards level and when that is done you know the winners at the unit level and ward even before the final declaration of the results at the final collation centre.”
When that is done, Labour Party will win a good percentage of the election because in the few areas where we have candidates we are prepared to win them.”
On his part, Chairman of the APC, Prophet Jones Erhue said; “we are very prepared for the election. All we are asking for is level playing ground for all the parties. We are not far from the battle field; we shall meet at the field.
We don’t want any card carrying member of a political party as a returning officer.
State publicity of the PDP Mr Ray Macaulay said; “the PDP is fully prepared for the election; as you aware our candidates went round their respective Local Government Areas campaigning whereas the other parties went to sleep waiting for miracle from heaven.
We have worked hard for victory and we will be victorious at the end of the election. We reached out to the electorates to seek for their votes and we are confident they will vote massively for us.
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