Edo Governorship Poll: Tension As Fight Breaks Out At Polling Unit

By Our Reporter

There was a mild tension on Saturday at one of the polling units in Edo State where the governorship election is taking place.

The incident occurred at Emokpae Model Primary School in Oredo Local Government Area of the state.

This is where Governor Godwin Obaseki, who is one of the candidates in the poll, is expected to cast his vote.

Channels Television gathered that the fracas was as a result of a misunderstanding between an agent of a political party and a supposed election observer.

This occurred while some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were setting up for the election.

The politician was said to have mistaken the observer for another party agent and challenged him for sitting on a seat meant for the electoral officials.

As a result, both men engaged in an altercation as other electorates at the venue watched.

The situation was later brought under control following the intervention of the security agencies on the ground.

Representatives of the two leading political parties in the state traded words over who should be blamed for the incident.

The election in Edo is scheduled to hold in all the 18 Local Government Areas (LGA) of the state.

Though there are fourteen political parties in the gubernatorial race, stats suggest that the real race is between the incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

There are fears that things might degenerate as have been seen in past elections, the police and other security agencies have assured voters of their safety, urging them to conduct themselves in a very orderly manner.