Mary Okpalaume, Sapele

Reacting to the March 28 presidential, senatorial and federal House of Representatives elections, the President General of the Urhobo Progress Union, Chief Joe Omene has called for the cancellation of the use of Smart Card Readers in subsequent elections saying that the card reading machines were incapable of accrediting majority of the registered voters in his polling unit.

Chief Joe Omene

Chief Omene who made the observation when reporters chatted with him at Mosogar, Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State also criticized electoral officials for their inadequacies and perceived unpreparedness in conducting the elections calling on INEC to give more education on the electoral processes and activities to electoral officials.

“The people were not properly trained. They were not really used to the material. It caused some electoral delays. If we were to go by the card readers, only about one third of those registered would have authentic votes.

The president general however commended the general conduct of elections in his locality saying it was peaceful and violence free.