Elections into the Chairmanship and Councillorship positions in the six area councils of Abuja namely Bwari, Kuje, Gwagwalada, Abuja Municipal Area Council, Abaji and Kwali was held on Saturday.
The polls which was characterised by low turn out of voters was contested by no fewer than 10 political parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Labour Party (LP), All Peoples Congress, All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and Young Peoples Party.
Prior to the election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had said that its target was for the election to commence by 8:00a.m.
However, while INEC officials arrived at voting centres within the city centre on time, the same could not be said of voting centres at the outskirts.
For instance, at Kogo primary school which has polling units 28, 29 and 30, INEC officials arrived at about 8:10a.m and were setting up.
However, voting did not commence until 8:30a.m.
Similarly, there was late arrival of INEC Ad-hoc staff and materials at Polling Unit 064 and 008, Lugbe Across. Observers, party agents, voters arrived as early as 7:00a.m.
At Daki Biyu Village ll (44 Junction), Jabi, INEC officials at polling units 119 and 120 with no presence of voters and voting are yet to commence at 9:04a.m.
The story was different at polling unit 060 in Abidjan Street, Wuse Zone 3, where electoral officials arrived as early as 7:40am to prepare the unit for accreditation and voting.
Similarly, at polling unit 008 Lugbe voting commenced at 10:20am.
Most parts of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), including Wuse 2, Zones one to seven, Maitama, Asokoro, Garki and Lugbe, witnessed low voter turnout on Saturday in the ongoing Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area council elections.
Besides, there was late deployment of officials and materials in some units visited, with many Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials still setting up as late as 9.30am.
As of 8.30am at Polling Unit (PU) 032, Airwaves, Durban Street, Wuse 2, although police officers and an agent of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were on ground, INEC was yet to fully set up. Also, there was no single voter by the time THISDAY left the unit.
It was the same at PU 058 on Sultan Abubakar Way, Zone 2, where officials and security personnel were present by 8:48 am, but there were no voters or party agents at the unit. But PU 007, Security Post, along Sultan Abubakar Way, was different, as officials had set up by 8:50am. However, a number of the voters had their name missing from the voter register.
At PU 033, Rockview Hotel on Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, no official was present as of 8:36 am, but voting had commenced at PU 008, Government Secondary School (GSS), Zone 3, as of 9:01am. But turnout remained low.
Also, PU 114, Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Wuse, as of 10:35am had INEC officials just setting up. Party agents were more in number than prospective voters, THISDAY observed.
At PU 013, Asokoro 3, near the ECOWAS Secretariat, voting commenced before 10:02am, but voters were not on ground. Also, in the State House, PUs 120 had no record of any voter as of 10:15am, PU 131 had about three, while PU 121 had 15 voters.
In the same vein, the inability of voters to locate their names on the voter register was a key problem.
In PU112, Kashim Ibrahim Way, Maitama, as of 10:32am, the unit was just being set up by INEC officials and policemen. Party agents could be seen around, but no voters were on sight.
In Lugbe, there was also a delayed commencement of voting at polling Unit 007, located in LEA Primary School Pyakasa, with sensitive materials arriving around at 9.15am.
Low voter turnout marked the Area Council election in Karu, located in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, as most polling units recorded sparse attendance throughout the day.
Although the process was largely peaceful and electoral officials arrived early to commence accreditation and voting, many registered voters in Karu stayed away from the polls.
Observers and polling agents attributed the low participation to a combination of voter apathy, logistical difficulties and lingering doubts about the credibility of the electoral process.
The situation was evident at EC 34 polling unit, where only 30 of the 407 registered voters had cast their ballots as of 2:30 p.m. Similar patterns were observed at several other polling units around the abattoir area of Karu.
By the time this report was filed, electoral officers had begun sorting and counting ballots at various polling centres, with party agents closely monitoring the exercise, even as the anticipated late surge of voters failed to materialise.
Speaking after monitoring the elections in some polling units, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, expressed satisfaction over the peaceful and orderly conduct of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections held on Saturday.
Even though in most cases, voting didn’t start on time at the voting centres in the satellite towns, the Chairman commended early deployment of election materials across polling units.
Amupitan, who monitored the exercise on Saturday, visited several polling centres across the FCT, began his inspection tour in parts of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
He subsequently proceeded before to Bwari and Gwagwalada Area Councils, where he interacted with electoral officials, security personnel and voters.
Amupitan told newsmen that accreditation and voting commenced as scheduled in many polling units, with only minor logistical delays recorded in isolated areas.
The chairman stressed that the commission had recorded encouraging reports across the FCT, adding that the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) significantly improved the accreditation process.
His words: “You can see yourself that the election is orderly, efficient and peaceful. So far, as far as the efficiency of the BVAS is concerned, I am very satisfied.
“Feedback from Assistant Presiding Officers across the FCT indicated that voter accreditation took less than five seconds in many polling units, a development he said strengthens the credibility of the process.
“We are encouraged by the level of compliance with electoral guidelines and the peaceful atmosphere in the centres we have visited. Our officials were on ground early, and sensitive materials arrived on time.”
The INEC chairman assured residents that the commission had put adequate measures in place to guarantee transparency and credibility in the exercise.
He pointed out that about 99 per cent of polling units were operational as of 10:30 am, expressing confidence that the exercise would end successfully.
FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike has, however, deplored the low voter turnout that characterized the FCT Area Councils Election held across the territory yesterday.
He made reference to the poor turn out when granting interview to reporters after going to monitor the conduct of the election in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
The minister, who monitored the voting exercise in Wassa, Ketti, Karshi and Karu
however, noted that while the city centre witnessed voter apathy the turnout was quite impressive in some of the satellite towns.
“First of all, we thank God that everywhere is peaceful. The only issue we have observed is low voter turnout, particularly within the city, and that has always been the case. However, when you go to some of the satellite towns, the turnout is quite impressive.
At this polling unit (Ketti), you can see some protests, just as I was coming in. But what is important is that the election is peaceful — no violence, no destruction of ballot papers or ballot boxes,” Wike said.
He also lauded the security personnel for ensuring a peaceful election, noting that no incident of violence was recorded in the polling units unlike what was occasioned in the part.
The minister also responded to the criticism of the Senator representing the FCT, Ireti Kingibe, that the restriction on movement in the FCT from 8pm on Friday to 6pm on Saturday, amounted to a curfew.
Wike said: “It is unfortunate. I never imposed a curfew. In my statement, I said — with the approval of Mr. President — that there would be a restriction of movement from 8 p.m. to 6 p.m. This is not the first time such a measure has been taken during elections.
“I clearly stated that it was with the approval of Mr. President. People should take time to read statements properly and understand what was said before reacting. I do not want to join issues. At the end of the election, when the results come out, we will all know”.
On it’s part, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned the movement of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, around various polling units in Abuja under the guise of “monitoring.”
The ADC said Wike’s “monitoring” exercise, after unilaterally imposing a curfew on potential voters, represents direct interference in the election.
The party in a statement issued on Saturday by it’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said, ”He is not a registered voter in the FCT, and as a known partisan and cabinet minister, Wike has no constitutional role in the election exercise.
“His presence during active voting is therefore not only vexatious and meddlesome, but also risks intimidating voters and officials”
ADC claimed it also received reports of voter suppression and intimidation in parts of the FCT, including alleged collaboration between APC agents and some security personnel.
Abdullahi said, ”We also note disruptions to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), which has remained inaccessible even as results are being collated. We find this a curious coincidence and call on INEC to urgently restore full IReV functionality, with a clear public explanation of the disruption.
”We urge all our party a=gents and voters to remain calm but vigilant, and to document all incidents”.
Also, the followers of achieftain of the African Democratic Congress, Peter Obi have raised the alarm that the IREV is not displaying results.
In a statement by the coordinator of the Obedient movement, Tanko Yunusa said, ”Information reaching us indicates that the IREV server is active but not displaying results that were reportedly uploaded successfully from various polling units.
”All Obidients and Nigerians are therefore encouraged to remain alert and vigilant. If necessary, we urge everyone to peacefully proceed to Area 10 INEC office and karu for the collation process and observe developments closely.
”Ensure that you have the accurate results from your respective polling units for proper verification. Let us remain calm, law-abiding, and committed to protecting the integrity of the electoral process through peaceful and lawful means.”
Reacting to low voter turn out at the polls, former Kaduna Senator, Shehu Sani claimed the people of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) do not like to vote.
In a terse post made via his verified X handle on Saturday, the former lawmaker, who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the Senate, said residents of the FCT are waiting for restrictions of movements to be lifted for them to continue with their day-to-day activities.
He wrote, “Abuja people seem not interested in voting. They are just waiting for the movement restrictions to be lifted so that they can go about their normal businesses.”
Also, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoleye Sowore, attributed the low voter turnout at the FCT Area Council elections to President Bola Tinubu signing the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law.
Sowore made the assertion while speaking with journalists at the 001 Polling Unit, LEA Primary School, Kabusa, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), where he said a lot of Nigerians currently have lost confidence and trust in the electoral process.
According to him, “What we have discovered is that more and more of our people are no longer voting, and I think it was made adverse by the newly signed electoral law, which doesn’t give transparency to the oxygen it needs because democracy needs one oxygen, that’s trust.
“The moment trust is lost, people stay at home because there is nothing more voluntary than voting – you take your money, you take your time, and if you feel like the thing is not going to produce the results you want, you don’t leave your house.”
Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha, Wale Ajimotokan, Adedayo Akinwale, Emmanuel Addeh and Linus Aleke in Abuja
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