The Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) January 6, 2018 local government elections may be postponed, HardReporters can report.
DSIEC had officially released its time-table for the 2018 local government council election in the state through a statement signed by the Chairman of the Commission, Mike Ogbodu, with political party primaries from October and climax on Saturday January 6, 2018 with elections across the 25 local government areas of the state.
ALSO READ: Former DSIEC Member Drags Okowa, Delta Assembly To Court Over Unlawful Termination Of Appointment
The imminent postponement, our political editor reliably gathered is as a result of governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s alleged refusal to release to the commission the sum of N500 million being its balance of the N700 million budget proposal summited to the governor.
Confiding in this medium, a commissioner in the board, disclosed that “Actually, we presented a budget of N700 million to governor Okowa for the conduct of the local government elections across the 25 council areas come January 6, 2018. But as we speak, the governor has only released to us just N200 million.
ALSO READ: DELTA COUNCIL POLLS: Finally, Okowa’s DSIEC Fixes January 6 For Elections
“As at this moment, even before he traveled for his two weeks vacation, all efforts to have the governor release to us the N500 million balance has proved abortive. We no longer understand the body language of the governor and if the N500 million balance is not released to us on time to enable us fast track all the necessary preparations, of course the implication is postponement.
ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: LG Polls: Gov. Okowa, DSIEC Boss Lied As Plans To Sack Ogbe For New DSIEC Intensifies
“You might think we still have enough time but the truth is that time wait for no man. I don’t want to be pessimistic but I am seeing postponement in the January 6, 2018 local government elections. Unless sometime urgent is done if not the election is as good as been postponed.” the DSIEC commissioner said.
As at the time of filing in this report, calls put across to the chairman of DSIEC, Mr. Mike Ogbodu were rebuffed.
