By Clifford Ndujihe, Deputy Political Editor
The controversies hallmarking the January 6, 2011 Delta State re-run governorship polls continued Wednesday with one of the leading candidates, Chief Great Ogboru calling for the postponement of the elections because the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC is not ready.

Eight days to the exercise, Ogboru, who is contesting on the plank of the Democratic Peoples Party, DPP, told reporters in Lagos, Wednesday, that the electoral umpire was yet to display the voters’ list to be used, had not written the candidates and political parties and was bent on including disqualified candidates in the polls.

Wondering why the INEC was in a hurry to conduct the polls when it still has 40 days to midwive a credible election (on or before February 9), Ogboru pinned free and fair re-run elections in the state to fresh voters’ register.

Ogboru spoke as a pressure group, Delta Coalition for Change, DCC, led by Chief Atuyota Ejughemre, a former electoral commissioner, alleged arms build-up ahead the polls and called for the redeployment of top INEC officials in Delta including the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Dr. Gabriel Ogbudu-Ada.

Lamenting that the electoral body was treading the path that led to the Court of Appeal’s nullification of the 2007 election by not displaying and producing the voters’ list, Ogboru urged the commission to make the Delta re-run a test case of what to expect in the 2011 general elections.

Speaking in like manner, Atuyota said 11 of the 25 local councils had no voters’ list and listed the councils as Aniocha South, Oshimili South, Ika South, Ika North-East, Ndokwa West, Isoko South, Isoko North, Patani, Bomadi and Burutu.

He called on President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly to intervene in the Delta re-run to contain rising tension that could snowball into violence.

“There are plans to intimidate voters through the use of force and INEC must liaise properly now with the law enforcement agencies to smash the arms build-up to the re-run election,” he added.