By Perez Brisibe

UGHELLI— EXECUTIVE Director, Centre for the Vulnerable and Underprivileged, CENTREP, Mr Oghenejabor Ikimi, has described last Saturday’s local government polls held in Delta State as a “coup d’etat against Deltans.”

The group also condemned the election, adding that the entire electioneering process was a “monumental fraud against the people at the grassroots in the 25 local government areas of the state.”

Ikimi, in a statement yesterday, also took a swipe at the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission, DSIEC, noting that across the length and breadth of the state, there was no semblance of an election in any part thereof.

He said: “Despite its assurances to the people of the state to conduct a peaceful, credible, free and fair election, DSIEC stage-managed a coup d’etat against the people at the grassroots in the 25 local government areas of the state by robbing them of true democracy and true representation.

“It was also public knowledge that DSIEC had said it has no capacity from the onset to conduct a credible local government election as the notice and guidelines of election it released on October 3, 2017 were not in tandem with the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended).”

“Voter’s registers were never displayed in any ward or local government area of the state prior to the said shambolic elections with civil society groups in the State who were prepared to monitor the said election being blacked out.”