By Austin Ogwuda
Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, who was recently re-elected for a second term in office, on his experience in running for two governorship elections within four months, said  he was made to suffer as a guinea pig in the process.

Fielding questions from newsmen during a visit to the state-owned Pointer Newspapers in Asaba, Uduaghan, said “running for two elections within four months was challenging as pressure was mounted on me to still go to court over tenure elongation, which I narrowly missed.

“It was an election in which I happened to be a guinea pig and that was the way I felt. First, we had a scenario where for three and a half years, we were at the tribunal. A normal process should not take that long but I am happy that it had been corrected in the new Electoral Act, which states that after the election, it should take about 180 days within which the case should be disposed of.

“I had to contest another election and another legal issue arose, that was after my first term in office was termed illegal and while I won the re-run, the period I was out was added as my tenure. Of course, we went to court and the lower court ruled that it should be added based on a new Eectoral Law that was signed on the day I was sworn in.

“Again, a lot of lawyers had said that I should appeal but that is neither here nor there. Now, I had to prepare for another election in April and the result had just been announced. So you see, it has been quite challenging. Being the guinea pig of the electoral process, I believe my case will be a good case study for students of politics,” he added.