08.55pm: Counting still ongoing!
07:45pm: Delta PDP Guber ticket: Voting ends, collation of votes underway!
07:45pm: Voting ends with Warri South delegates casting their votes. Collation of votes to follow immediately.
07:32pm: Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan votes with delegates from Warri North.
07:11pm: Udu LGA voting! About 5 more local governments to go and we begin counting!
07:08pm: Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan (R) with THEWILL Publisher, Prince Austyn Ogannah at the primary.
06: 20pm: Voting arena lighted
The lighting system has been switched on since it is getting dark.
06:08pm: Voting process still peaceful outside a minor fracas involving delegates from Ethiope East LGA.
05:46pm: Voting has commenced with Aniocha North/South
They have called Aniocha South delegates in the accreditation and voting exercise. Number of delegates accreditated were 38 out of 43. The whole arena is rowdy with so many people clustering the voting area.
05:45pm: Voting starts!
05:30pm: Accreditation still ongoing peacefully. Voting is expected to commence afterwards.
05:03pm: Accreditation ends. Voting about to start with Aniocha North delegates going first.
05:05pm: Governor Uduaghan still no where near VIP stand where aspirants are seated.
04:42pm: The frontline governorship aspirants are Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, Mr. David Edevbie, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, Mr. Anthony Obuh, Dr. Ngozi Olojeme, Mr. Clement Ofuani, Mr. Festus Okubor, Olorogun Ovie Omo-Agege, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, Chief Godwill Obielum, Elder Godsday Orubebe and Professor Sylvester Monye.
Deputy Governor, Prof. Amos Utuamah has withdrawn from the contest!
04:30pm: Governor Uduaghan avoids VIP stand, where all aspirants are seated. Sits under the same canopy provided for journalists!
04:18pm: Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan arrives venue.
04:17pm: Delta PDP Guber Primaries: Aspirants Protest Alleged Infiltration Of Hired Delegates
Some aspirants in the ongoing Delta State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primaries have protested the alleged infiltration of the venue by some hired delegates.
One of the aspirants, Ifeanyi Okowa, a former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), who appeared to be under pressure had protested the presence of the Delta State Chief of Staff, Chief Paulinus Akpeki, who was at the venue even when he is not one of the delegates.
Akpeki was politely asked to leave the venue by security personnel.
As at 3: 36pm, delegates were still being accredited according to their local governments before being allowed into the venue.
While the aspirants were seated in a canopy calmly, some of them insisted that the voting exercise must not commence until all delegates numbering 1,121 are fully accredited and have gained entrance into the venue.
04:00pm: Journalists Barred From Covering PDP Guber Primaries in Delta
Hundreds of journalists assigned by various media houses were barred from gaining access to the venue of the ongoing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primaries being held at the Event Centre Asaba, the state capital.
Fierce-looking policemen who mounted the various gates leading to the entrance said the order not to allow journalists into the venue was from the state PDP and police headquarters in Asaba.
They said not until the Police Public Relations Officer, Celestine Kalu (DSP), come personally, the reporters wouldn’t be allowed into the venue.
Policemen and personnel of the Department of the State Service (DSS) personnel wielding AK-47 rifles deployed to the Event Centre to provide security for the exercise had molested curious journalists who besieged the gate in a bid to gain access to the venue
THEWILL learnt that there were no press tags for journalists, a development which made accreditation of journalists difficult.
The exercise however started a bit late as accreditation of delegates commenced at about 3:00 pm.
03:45pm: There are 1,121 accredited delegates voting in this election. The winner will be decided by a simple majority. Meaning any aspirant with the highest number of votes emerges winner of the contest.
03:21pm: All governorship aspirants have arrived at the Event Centre venue of the primary.
03:20pm: Primary election yet to start. It is at least 5 hours behind schedule. It was slated to start at 10.am.
