WARRI—Lawyer and public affairs commentator, Jesutega Onokpasa, has called on Deltans to accord the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission, DSIEC, the requisite support to deliver credible polls in the impending local government elections slated for this weekend.

Speaking in Warri, Delta State, Onokpasa, who is the convener of the Delta Equity Coalition, DEC, commended Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, for respecting the legally established independence of the commission by refraining from eroding its independent status.

While observing that the Commission has, since its inauguration strived to deliver on its mandate of free, fair and credible polls, he said: “From our investigations, the commission under its chairman, Moses Ogbe, is determined to conduct polls in which the electorate votes, its votes are counted and those votes indeed count at the end of the day. It is commendable that in spite of protests from freeloaders and regular election riggers, DSIEC stood its ground and went ahead to shop for credible ad-hoc staff, returning officers and election observers this time around, ensuring that it is not an all comers affair as in the past.

“By insisting that Delta State has qualified, experienced and credible persons able to conduct credible elections, Ogbe and the leadership of the commission have demonstrated their preparedness to engender a paradigm shift in the conduct of local government elections, thereby positioning DSIEC to deliver the sort of credible polls, the national umpire, INEC, has been commended for in the recent past.”