The successful conduct and outcome of last Saturday’s local government election in Delta State has justified government’s painstaking planning that preceded the election, Chike Ogeah, Commissioner for Information, has said.
Noting that some politicians had misconstrued the seeming delay in holding the election, Ogeah said as a platform for the expression of the will of the people, elections at any level must meet minimum standards for the confidence of the people in the electoral process to be boosted.
“Dr. Uduaghan is a stickler for due process and the rule of law. That is why he initiated and saw through the constitution of an independent electoral umpire backed by law. He presented a bill to the State House of Assembly to pass an enabling law for the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC). That process laid the ground work for the emergence of a truly independent electoral umpire in DSIEC”, Ogeah stated in Asaba.
He noted that throughout the entire process, the governor enjoined every stakeholder to play by the rule. “More importantly, he ensured that the electoral body got every material – funds, logistics etc – that it needed to succeed”, the commissioner said.
Ogeah congratulated the government and people of the state for the successful outcome of the election. “This is a victory not just for His Excellency, the Governor and DSIEC but also the electorate who voted overwhelmingly in expressing their will and their votes counted”, the commissioner stated.
To underscore the success of the poll, he said that the fact that the umbrella group of all registered political parties in the state applauded the election and the outcome makes the Delta State council poll a benchmark in transparency.
Following the conclusion of the poll, the Inter-Party Advisory Council of Nigeria, a group drawn from members of registered political parties, Delta State chapter, had endorsed the election as free, transparent and a true reflection of the wish of the people.
Its chairman, Mr. Paul Osamade, in a press conference in Asaba, commended the Governor Uduaghan, the DSIEC and the people of the state for success of the election.
The new chairmen have since been inaugurated by the governor in a ceremony in Asaba on Monday.
