Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The National Convention of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) was yestrday night disrupted by irate Ijaw youths.
The hoodlums overran the combined team of security agents at the Izonwari House, venue of the election, destroying ballot boxes and forcing the aspirants, delegates and traditional rulers to scamper for safety.
Although it is not clear who hired the hoodlums, some aspirants, however, claimed that those that were excluded from the process of the convention were those that encouraged the hoodlums to storm the venue to disrupt the process.
According to eye-witness accounts, over 1000 youths who stormed the venue of the convention insisted that the list of delegates contained under aged delegates.
Checks indicated that security personnel on deployment at the venue of the election because of the tensed situation suggested that the election be shifted to the following day to avoid the elections extending to the night as it was already getting late, however, the officials of the Electoral Committee of the INC insisted on conducting the elections, promising to conclude on time.
The counting of votes had begun when the hoodlums stormed the venue in their numbers to disrupt the process.
While some of them put off the generator and vandalised the generator house to throw the venue into darkness, others carted away ballot boxes, attacked electoral materials, forcing many aspirants, delegates, electoral officers and journalists to scamper for safety.