Bankole voted before announcement

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, on Saturday cast his vote during the National Assembly election in Abeokuta, Ogun State before the announcement of postponement by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Bankole, who arrived for the exercise at Ward 10, Iporo Sodeke Polling Unit in Abeokuta South of the state around 12.40pm, participated in the accreditation and voting before the announcement of the postponement. The Speaker, however, declined to comment during the voting and also refused to react to the postponement when contacted through his spokesman, Mr. Kayode Odunaro. But the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology, Mr. Abiodun Akinlade, chided INEC over the development. He said, ‘It shows that INEC is unfair to Nigerians. These Nigerians left their homes as early as 7am to exercise their rights and somebody announced the postponement around 2pm. “The National Assembly has given INEC boss, Prof Attahiru Jega, all the necessary support he needed. The INEC boss had even on several occasions, told the press that the commission was ready for the exercise. He had over seven months to prepare for the election, so he had no excuse.” He described the postponement as a huge financial cost to the party and the candidates, saying that the incident could lead to general apathy on the part of the electorate. By Francis Falola Courtesy Of: Punch