Low turnout

No fewer than 18 people died
during Saturday’s governorship and
state assembly elections that were
characterised by voter apathy
nationwide.
Seven of the deaths were recorded
in Ebonyi, five in Akwa Ibom, three
in Rivers, and one each in Cross
River, Benue and Plateau states
where turnout of voters was also
poor.
Some arrests were made by
security agents in some states
where ballot box snatching and
other electoral offences were
recorded.
Reports from Lagos, Oyo, Osun,
Ondo, Ekiti, Delta and Bayelsa states
showed that unlike the March 28
presidential and National Assembly
polls, many voters chose not to
exercise their civic duty on
Saturday.
Voter apathy was also recorded in
Enugu, Anambra, Kwara, Nasarawa,
Kaduna, Cross River, Edo, Bauchi and
Kano states.
Voters, including President
Goodluck Jonathan; Oyo State
Governor, Abiola Ajimobi; his Osun
State counterpart, Rauf Aregbesola;
the Minister of State for Foreign
Affairs, Musiliu Obanikoro; former
Ekiti Governor Niyi Adebayo, and
erstwhile governorship candidate
of the Labour Party, Opeyemi
Bamidele, gave reasons for the
low turnout.
Jonathan, who was not
accompanied to his polling unit in
Otuoke, Bayelsa State, said the
polls on Saturday were not
characterised by the same level of
mobilisation witnessed during the
preparations for the presidential
election.
The President also said many
voters in Bayelsa State did not
come out to vote on Saturday
because there was no governorship
election in the state.
He said, “Naturally, different levels
of elections generate different
levels of interests. Presidential
elections are quite interesting;
governorship elections are quite
interesting.
“If we were to have a governorship
election in Bayelsa State, the
mobilisation (would have been
different). Of course, we need to
mobilise the electorate to come
out.
“For the House of Assembly
elections, you know the interest is
not as high as presidential or
governorship election.”
The President, who also spoke on
the chances of the Peoples
Democratic Party in the elections
across the country, stated that he
was expecting the party to perform
better.
He explained that while the PDP
did well in some states on March 28,
the party’s performance was not as
good in some others.
INEC officials came out with
election materials as early as 6am
in Otuoke but the people failed to
turn up for accreditation in most of
the units.
The situation was such that nine of
the polling units were told to move
out of the Dame Patience Jonathan
Centre where they were during the
March 28 elections. The centre is
described as traditional locations
for elections in Otuoke.
Aregbesola said the low turnout
showed that Nigerians had yet to
appreciate the importance of the
legislature in a democracy.
“The turnout of the electorate is
very low. There were many people
here two weeks ago when I came
out to vote, but today, it is not like
that. It still shows people don’t
know how important the House of
Assembly is in the state; they still
need more orientation.” he said.
Obanikoro described as
unexpected, the low turnout of
voters in Lagos , saying the
alleged intimidation of voters at
some polling units on March 28
could be responsible for it.
He said, “The activities of some
persons, the intimidation, the
harassment, the mobilisation of
thugs to disturb elections on Lagos
Island, Oshodi, some parts of
Mushin and parts of Eti Osa could be
responsible for the low turnout,”
he claimed.
“This is possible because some
sections of our society have been
intimidated and threatened with
death, “the minister added.
Adebayo and Bamidele blamed the
poor turnout on people’s low
enthusiasm.
Adebayo said, “Presidential
election is more important to
people. Once it held, people don’t
show interest again. May be the
story would have been different if
governorship election had held in
the state (Ekiti).”
He blamed politicians and parties
for not doing enough sensitisation
and mobilisation of their
supporters.
Bamidele, on his part, said,
“Political parties don’t do 50 per
cent of the job they are supposed
to do; they are supposed to
educate voters.”
Bamidele also blamed the
development on INEC. He said that
the conduct of the presidential
election before the others was the
cause of the apathy.
The National Chairman, All
Progressive Grand Alliance, Victor
Umeh, attributed the poor turnout
to voters’ discontent with the
outcome of March 28 presidential
and National Assembly elections.
The Deputy Governor of Nasarawa
State, Damishi Luka, told the News
Agency of Nigeria shortly after
casting his vote in Ningo, that the
apathy was due to the result of the
presidential election which did not
favour the PDP.
“The people are disappointed at
the outcome of the presidential
election and that was why they
were discouraged to come out to
vote as they did during the March
28 presidential and National
Assembly elections,” he said.
But some people in Kwara State
told SUNDAY PUNCH that they did
not vote because they had no
doubt that the governorship
candidate of the APC , Abdulfatah
Ahmed, would win.
The residents , most of whom are
supporters of the PDP , said even if
they voted, they were very sure
that Ahmed, who is also the state
governor, would be re-elected.
Many of the states also had cases
of snatched ballot boxes and other
electoral materials.
In Ekiti for instance, ballot boxes
were said to have been forcibly
taken away by thugs in some
polling units in Ikole, Osin, Iludun,
and Egbe Ekiti; Calabar South in
Cross River State, and in Ukum,
Tarka and Ushongu Local
Government Areas of Benue State.
Our correspondent in Makurdi,
Benue State gathered that people
dressed in police uniform aided
some thugs to snatch electoral
materials in Ukum, Tarka and
Ushongu LGAs.
A guard was said to have been
amputated by some thugs in Tarka
for trying to stop them from
carting away materials for the
elections.
Thugs were also said to have shot
one of their colleagues to death at
a polling booth in one of the LGAs
following an argument over
sharing of money.
In Edo State, Governor Adams
Oshiomhole said, “I have received
reports, right now, from Esan West,
Ward 3, Unit 7, where some PDP
thugs have snatched a ballot box,
seeing that they are losing, and
carried away some ballot papers
and I have forwarded the text to
the Resident Electoral
Commissioner.
“I have also received reports of
ballot box snatching somewhere in
Ikpoba Okha, again, by PDP thugs.
This is the only aspect that is
worrisome. I think there is also an
incident in Okada.”

Yes o

Thugs too much for those area

really...

Yeah