By Emma Amazie, Regional Editor, S/South
Is tomorrow’s poll cast in stone in Delta State? Ordinarily, this is not the question Deltans should lose sleep over since the umpire for the election, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had affirmed the date, but, quite a lot of people are getting worried with the intricate designs and antics of some political actors and groups in the state to box the Commission to a corner over the matter.

Already, a former Commissioner in the State, Mr. George Timinimi has obtained an order from a Federal High Court in Abuja to put the INEC on notice in respect of a suit he filed, praying the court to order the Commission to compile a new voter’s register before holding the re-run. The court approved that INEC should be served through substituted service in two national newspapers and the matters comes up January 12, six days after the INEC scheduled date for the re-run.

On Wednesday, December 29, 2010, a group of protesters, led by the former secretary-general of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, Chief Frank Kokori, a known ally of the gubernatorial candidate of the Democratic People’s Party, DPP, gubernatorial candidate, Chief Great Ogboru, under the aegis of “Deltans for free and Credible Election”, stormed the INEC office in Asaba to protest the plan by the Commission to use the old voters’ register for the re-run poll.

Chief Ogboru himself had on separate occasions in the last few days drummed on the same point and it was further accentuated by the ANPP gubernatorial candidate, Mrs. Veronica Bamuza-Mutu, who, though found nothing wrong with the use of the 2006 register for the re-run, said, “I think the proper thing to do at this time is for INEC to shift the date of the re_run election from January 6 to January 31”.

Unlike others, the Accord Party gubernatorial Mr. Peter Oghenewhogaga Osalor who spoke to Vanguard in an interview in Warri said, “It is a re-run, we are running it as if it was in 2007, so it is fair for INEC to use the old voters’ register but for transparency, for the new Delta State and for the new INEC, which Prof Attahiru Jega represents, it should do things thoroughly. It is only a mad man that does same thing over and over and expects a different result”

His words: “INEC has the final say on the date of the election; it is not us (gubernatorial candidates) to fix the date for election.  The Court of Appeal gave INEC   90 days; INEC can choose to do it in one week within the 90 days or one month within the 90 days or on exactly the 90th day. However, Whatever INEC decides to do with the election in the final analysis, it will be judged on its fairness. I am okay with the January 6 date because I believe INEC will get it right, if they don’t get it right, that is bad.”

Omo-Agege

The AP gubernatorial standard-bearer addedg that when he contacted a top official of the commission in Asaba on the matter, some weeks ago, the official told him that if INEC could not produce a new voters’ register because of exigency of time, the old register would be updated to eliminate ghost names and other anomalies.

“I was in INEC office in Asaba myself and the official told me that commission was working on the old register to update and improve it, which is to remove fictitious names wherever found,  and make sure people were put in the right wards and local government areas”, he

asserted.

Mr. Osalor pointed out, “the voting on January 6 is only going to take just few hours, it cannot take from morning to evening, so the old voters’ register should be updated and advertised” and expressed confidence that he would win the re_run election because Deltans want change and he represents that change”.

On his part, the PRP gubernatorial candidate in Delta State, Mr. Emmanuel Igbini said he was taken aback by the opposition to the use of the old voters register by his DPP counterpart, Chief Ogboru, saying that he (Ogboru) agreed with the use of the old register before now.

His words: “Let me state here most respectfully that I am surprised and disappointed to read an article allegedly written on behalf and on the instruction of chief Great Ogboru, strongly rejecting the use of old 2006 voters’ register for the re-run election and insisting on a new voters’ register using the new DDC machines. This is very unfortunate and an attempt to mislead Deltans and Nigerians. Chief Ogboru himself totally agreed with INEC that the old voters’ register be used for the re_run election and also agreed that no new or duplicate voters’ card be issued to anyone who comes with complain of lost of voter’s card. I challenge him to come out to deny this.

“The fact is that I am not happy that INEC has not been able to make available to the public, myself and my party, the 2006 voters’ register which is what is required by law for the conduct of the 2007 election. It will be totally wrong and unconstitutional for INEC to use a new voters’ register to conduct an election of April 14, 2007.”

Igbini further asserted, “In this regard I totally agree with INEC’s position to use the 2006 voters’ register no matter how defective it may be. As leaders that we claim to be and seeking to lead our people, we must be courageous to speak the moral truth and be consistent at all times even if the truth is bitter and unpopular rather than embark on political correctness and flip flopping to please and deceive our people”.

It was, however, gathered that the fear of Chief Ogboru and his supporters, who constitute the main opposition to the use of the old register for the re_run, is that the old register will favour the PDP because it was compiled in 2006 with the PDP government of Chief James Ibori in power, and that obviously, it was doctored to serve the interest of the party.

The Ogboru group also hinged their opposition to the use of the old register on points of law and intend to challenge the actions and inactions of INEC in court if it goes ahead to conduct the re_run with the old register.

Former governor of the state, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan who spoke to Vanguard, weekend, said there was no need for the hue and cry over the old register since INEC said it would clean it up and since the Commission was the umpire, it should be allowed to hold the re-run as planned, except if those asking for postponement were not ready for the election in the first instance.