Aba (Abia) – Insufficient provision of materials delayed voting on Saturday in most parts of the commercial city of Aba in Abia during the National Assembly elections.

Voting did not start in many places, particularly in Aba South Local Government Area until after 4 p.m. when the elections were supposed to have ended.

The 13 polling units in Ward Nine at Market Road Nursery/Primary School were the worst hit with the problem of inadequate materials.

Voters complained of a lack of voter registers at the venue while it was a case of one problem or the other at places where the registers were available.

The problems ranged from missing names and pictures to absence of INEC officials and logos, stalling voting until after 4 p.m.

As a result of the development, INEC adhoc staff were left doing nothing, while voters and party agents who had turned up since morning stood idle looking frustrated.

NAN reports that when the materials eventually arrived later in the day, most of the voters had left in annoyance.

An INEC staff at Ward Nine in the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she was first suspected to have been responsible for the delay.

“When there was shortage of materials, I was arrested by the police as I tried to go to the office to get them, but the police took me to the station and I was released after interrogation,’’ the INEC worker said.

At Ward Nine’s Unit 1 to Unit 6, voting did not take place at all as some of the voters complained of a lack of voter registers.

Mr Joseph Kalu told NAN that he and others had been at the venue since 7 a.m. while the ad hoc staff who are youth corpers members later came in the afternoon.

“They came with excuses, telling us to continue to wait because they were expecting the materials. But they never came before 4 p.m.,’’ Kalu said.

He, however, promised that he and others would not leave the polling unit until INEC officials brought the voter registers.

The gate into the INEC Office at Aba South Local Government Area was locked when visited the office, with security operatives not allowing anyone entry into the premises.(NAN)