An alleged election material diversion foiled by some persons in Delta State has triggered protest in the area.

The protesters gathered at the Central Bank of Nigeria office where election materials for the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections in Delta State were being distributed.

A pick-up van had earlier been intercepted allegedly trying to divert election materials meant for Ethiope East Local Government Area to an undisclosed destination.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters, who foiled the attempt, are alleging a collaboration between the Peoples Democratic Party (DPD) and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to rig the elections.

The protesters claimed that they were monitoring the distribution of election materials when they noticed that the driver of the van diverted to another location.

“When we saw the vehicle diverting this way, we approached the driver and asked what was in the vehicle. He said nothing. The policemen that were supposed to escort the vehicle were not with it. We asked the driver to open the vehicle and he said no.

“We forced the vehicle open and we discovered that the materials for Ethiope East  Local Government  were all inside.

“We are annoyed and we demand that something should be done about this,” one of the protesters said.

While confirming the incident, the public relations officer of INEC in Delta State, James Popoola, in a telephone interview said the materials were non-sensitive.