The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has paused the collation of results for the governorship election held on Saturday in Bayelsa State, The Herald reports.
The Returning Officer for the election, Faruk Adamu Kuta, made this announcement on Saturday at the INEC Collation Centre in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The Returning Officer for the election also noted that collation would resume in the state at 10:00 am on Sunday. Elections were concluded in most parts of the state on Saturday.
Although an INEC official was abducted and later released, the voting exercise went well in the oil-rich coastal state. Recall that the electoral official had been taken while waiting to board a boat at the Amassoma Jetty.
INEC also disclosed that a boat capsized on the eve of the exercise, resulting in the loss of electoral materials.
Residents who came out to cast their votes in Saturday’s poll equally commended the peacefulness of the exercise.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan, however, expressed concerns about the increasing number of off-season elections, as elections also took place in Imo and Kogi States, respectively, on Saturday.
According to the former President, the issue of off-season elections greatly worries him, stating that it is very odd. He pleaded with the National Assembly to discontinue the practice of off-season elections, noting that it is not a global norm.
The former President cast his vote at Ward 13, Polling Unit 39, at Otuoke, Ogbia Local Government Area of the state.
Goodluck Jonathan further noted that a time would come when even the Presidential election will be held off-season, maintaining that this would happen if the trend of off-season elections continues based on the interpretation of our laws by judicial officers.
He urged them to borrow a leaf from America, as there was nothing like off-season elections in the country.
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