Ondo State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ali Olanusi and many voters in the North senatorial district fell victims of the Smart Card Readers (SCRs) in the ongoing general elections.

Turnout for the Presidential, Senatorial and House of Representatives elections were impressive and encouraging in the north senatorial district of Ondo State though it was initially marred by some technical malfunctioning in some voting units.

Security men from Nigeria Police Force, NSCDC and Federal Road Safety Corps were deployed to each polling unit as at the time of filing this report and there was no military man in the voting centres.

There was strict adherence to restriction on the highway and towns, where shops were locked up without commercial activities, while the local and international observers were busy with their jobs.

In Oba town, Akoko South West local government, Centre EC 30B, accreditation started by 8:27am, but a bit delayed in ward 6, unit, where people were still waiting for the electoral officers, who arrived around 8:43am to commence the exercise.

The voters in Unit 06, Ward 13 waited in distress for the electoral officers till 8:56am; Felix-Tutu Omiye told The Guardian that the people had been waiting for INEC officials before the arrival of journalist.

In some places, there were shortcomings in the use of the Smart Card Readers (SCRs): it failed to verify some voters’s finger prints for accreditation and very slow verification in Ebure Ayedara Ward 11, Unit 8, Ayepe Ward 1Agbadotun Quarters Unit 1.

The Deputy Governor of the state, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, who defected to the opposition party in the eve of the election, was also a victim of the SCR malfunctioning, as his finger print for verification was rejected by the machine but was accredited manually.

Olanusi expressed satisfaction in the conduct of the exercise and hoped that the commission would not renege on its promises to Nigerians to conduct free and fair elections.

Speaking with journalists on his recent defection to the opposition party, he said: “It is very unfortunate. Unfortunate in the sense that, the way the leaders of the party has messed up the party they met,” accusing the national chairman of PDP and the National Central Working Committee of corruption.

However, the technical units of INEC sprang into action and promptly responded to the distress call to resolve the faults in the machine in places like Iwaro Oka, Ward 8, Oka-Odo Unit 3. Mrs Ologunleko Christianah, a voter in the unit told journalists they waited in the sun till 11: 32am.

Also, the turnout of voters for elections in Akoko North East Local Government in Ikare was highly impressive. In the district, the security operatives were at alert.

During the accreditation, the card readers started malfunctioning around 8:47am in Edo Ward 1, Unit 10 and Unit 4; and the voters could not be accredited till the technical officer and administrative officer 2 of INEC, Mrs Adegbaso Kemi was called upon to resolve the issue.

“The card readers were initially mis-configured but they are now functioning well, we are ground to respond to any similar hitch,” Adegbaso said.

While in some places like it happened in Iworin III Ward 5, Unit 15, Akoko South West local government, the people confirmed that the exercise went on smoothly.

Speaking with The Guardian, Mr Babaya Mohammed, a presiding officer at Edo Ward, Unit 4, stated that, “the card reader is working well with enough power for use.”

However, at Ikado Ward 3, Unit 11, the situation was different as at 8:30am because none of the party representative was seen.