Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has expressed surprise at the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the state’s governorship election earlier slated for Saturday, September 10, 2016.
The agency on Thursday afternoon announced this decision after it had earlier said that it would go ahead with the polls.
Speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Governor Oshiomhole described the decision as a set back for the state.
He frowned at the time it took the electoral body to make the decision, which he said affects the parties’ programmes.
He said that if INEC had given the hint earlier that the election would be postponed, the All Progressives Congress (APC) would have also postponed its final rally to suit the new election date.
The Governor also reacted to allegations that his party was behind the postponement of the election by stating that none of the other parties was as ready as the APC for Saturday’s election.
He argued that the large turnout of supporters at the party’s final campaign rally on Tuesday was an indication that Edo State was indeed an APC state.
He maintained that the only issue that involved him as the Governor of the state was INEC’s decision to fix the election to coincide with the West African Examination Council (WAEC), GCE examination, which led to protests by students of the state.
“INEC ought to have known that the West African Examination calendar was out there. It is not something they fix two or three weeks to the time,” he said.
