Governorship Election: Presiding Officer Absconds In Imo State
The presiding officer (PO) for Polling Unit 003, Ward 1, Owerri
Municipal Local Government Area, identified simply as Ms Blessing has
absconded.
Following the development, the supervisory presiding officer
appointed one Ebuka Orji to replace her. The development came as many
members of the National Youth Service Corps in the state refused to take
part in Saturday’s elections. The corps members had been recruited and
trained by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as
ad-hoc electoral officers.
Imo State is one of the 29 states electing governors while all the 36
states are electing state lawmakers. Many members of the corps members,
who functioned as ad-hoc staff during the February 23 presidential and
National Assembly elections in Imo State, refused to take part in the
ongoing polls.
They cited the heightened tension in the state and their ugly
experiences during the last elections two weeks ago for their
refusal. The spokesperson for INEC in the state, Emmanuella Opara, said
she was unaware of the boycott of the exercise by corps members.
A Corps Liason Officer (CLO) in Obowo Local Government Area of the
state, Akabunwa Kachi, told Premium Times that about 15 corps members in
his local government area who participated in the presidential election
refused to take part in Saturday’s poll. Ms Blessing’s action led to
confusion among the ad-hoc staff assigned to the unit.
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