A former senator representing Imo North district, Sen. Ifeanyi Araraume, commended INEC after casting his vote in the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections.

Araraume, who spoke with newsmen shortly after voting, commended INEC for the smooth process of the election, describing the process as an improvement over previous polls.

He commended the electoral umpire for its efforts to overcome initial challenges such as insufficiency of ad-hoc staff and late arrival of materials.

“I was accredited in less than five minutes and I was able to cast my vote peacefully. The BVAS is a remarkable improvement and we hope that we’ll continue to get better as a nation,” he said.

Also speaking, Mr Chikwem Onuoha, the House of Representatives candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for the Okigwe North Federal Constituency, hailed improvements in the electoral process.

He, however, lamented about lapses such as shortage of manpower and short supply of voting materials which, if left unchecked, could negatively affect the outcome of the polls.

He also said that many voters did not know where they were supposed to vote as a result of the creation of new polling units.

He, however, added that INEC officials were doing their best to make up for the lapses while commending security operatives for maintaining peace while the process lasted.

The APGA senatorial candidate for Owerri zone, Barrister Chyma Anthony Odiuko, who voted at booth 021, Umushioke, Iho Ward, Ikeduru LGA, told DAILY POST that aside from the late arrival of INEC officials, the exercise was going on smoothly.

He is contesting against Uche Onyeagucha of PDP, Ezenwa Onyewuchi of LP and Alex Mbata of APC.