Enugu LG poll: Houses burnt, many wounded

Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime has expressed satisfaction with the  conduct of  yesterday’s  local government elections in the state even as reports from Isiuzo local government area said some houses were burnt while some persons sustained machete cuts following a clash between supporters of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and All Progressive  Grand Alliance, APGA.

The elections generally witnessed low turn out of voters in the 17 local government areas of the state as voters  shunned the polls since only the PDP had candidates.

The violence in Isiuzo and  voters apathy notwithstanding, Chime said the elections  marked yet another milestone in the quest by the state to entrench democracy and good governance at the grassroot level

Chime, speaking shortly after casting his vote at Premier School Udi, said the conduct of the elections, the fourth since the inception of his administration in 2007, were worthy of emulation.

He attributed the low turn out of voters  to the fact all the chairmanship and most of the councillorship candidates were running unopposed.

Also speaking to reporters, the Country Director, World Youth Peace Mission, Abuja, Chief Boniface Okafor, who was  in Enugu with his team to monitor the elections, observed that the exercise was free an fair.

Meanwhile, reports from Isiuzo said that violence erupted in the council which had been under  tension following an attempt by APGA to stop the elections on account of alleged wrongful disqualification of its chairmanship candidate.

It was learnt that some houses were burnt at Umualor ward while some persons were wounded. Unconfirmed reports said the police made some arrests.

At Ikem Umuaram polling centre, an APGA agent, who identified himself as Monday, said he was asked by security agents, officials of Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission, ENSIEC, and some PDP stalwarts to disappear from the polling booth or would be dealth with.

He alleged that he watched how some suspected PDP members collected electoral materials and zoomed off in a Mercedes Benz car and he promptly called the FRCN phone-in programme monitoring the elections to complain of the alleged move to rig the councillorship election against the APGA candidate.

Meanwhile, the state chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Engr. Vita Abba, has expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the local government elections saying the process was transparent.