Okumbiri (Bayelsa)  Residents of Okumbiri in the Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa have appealed to INEC to extend the voting hour because of the late arrival of voting materials in the area.

The materials arrived at Okumbiri, the home town of the acting Governor of Bayelsa , at 12 noon, and that before that time no INEC official nor security agents were in the town.

Chief Raymond Oge, a community leader, said that they knew the materials would arrive late because of the location of their town, but that they now wanted INEC to give them more time to perform their civic responsibility.

Another resident, Mr Stephen Briseimo, a teacher, also said  that the town was about two hours by speed boat from the local government headquarters, Sagbama, and that the distance would have been responsible for the delay.

Briseimo also said that the town had declared Saturday, a work-free day to enable the people to come out and vote and also appealed to INEC to extend the voting hours for them.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of INEC in Bayelsa, Mr Timidi Wariowei, told NAN that only the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Edwin Nwatarali, could speaking on the issue of extending voting hours.

But Nwatarali, when contacted declined to comment on the issue, and said that he had a public relations officer who should answer questions from newsmen. (NAN)