Lagos, Nigeria - The national assembly (parliamentary) election in Nigeria got off to a slow start on Saturday, amid reports of late arrival of electoral officials and materials in many states. From the commercial city of Lagos to Kogi and Kaduna states in the north as well as Bayelsa and Cross River states in the south, voters who converged on polling booths at 8am local time (0700 GMT), when accreditation was scheduled to start, had not seen electoral officials two hours into the process. Actual voting is scheduled to start at 12.30pm local time (1130 GMT), some 30 minutes after accreditation of voters would have ended. In Otuoke, the hometown of President Goodluck Jonathan where he is also scheduled to vote, no official has arrived two hours into the process.

'The situation remains the same, there are no officials, there are no voting materials,' a PANA correspondent in the town reported.

In Lagos, a voter, who identified himself as Friday, called in to a live television programme to say accreditation was yet to start in the Gbagada area of the city.

The same situation prevailed in several polling stations at the Agege local government area of the State, which is a stronghold of the main opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

In Mid-western Edo state, voters are also yet to see electoral officials and materials in several towns and villages.

In the capital city of Abuja, voters at some polling booths in Kuje and Wuse II areas  were seen milling around as electoral officials were yet to arrive.

Members of the European Observers Group have joined the voters in the waiting game.

'I was here even before 8 am (0700 GMT) but I have not seen any INEC official,' said Abdullahi, a voter.

But accreditation started promptly in northern Katsina state, the home state of the immediate past President, the late Umaru Yar'Adua, and that of a presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, of the opposition Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), as in several other states.

No violence has been reported so far, despite the widespread violence in the run-up to the poll, the first of a three-phase general elections.

Security agents, from the police and para-military organisations, have turned up promptly at their duty posts, while armed troops were seen far away from polling booths, ready to move in case of any eventuality.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Attahiru Jega has hinted that the commission will be flexible in terms of accreditation and voting, meaning that voters could be given extra time for accreditation and voting to make up for the late arrival of officials and materials.

The national parliamentary election will be followed by the presidential poll on 9 April and the governorship and state assembly poll on 16 April.

Pana 02/04/2011