The governorship and the state houses of assembly elections are taking place today across Nigeria.
The State elections, the second phase of the 2023 General Elections, was initially scheduled for 11 March but postponed by one week following a Court of Appeal order granting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) permission to reconfigure the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for the exercise.
This followed the 3 March ex-parte order of the court given to some political parties to inspect materials used for the presidential poll whose results they are challenging.
Unlike last month’s elections held in 470 constituencies comprising 109 senatorial districts, 360 federal constituencies and one presidential, today’s exercise will hold in 1,021 state constituencies – 28 governorship and 993 assembly seats.
The governorship elections will hold in 28 out of the 36 states of the federation.
In Kano, a huge turnout of voters is being witnessed in the governorship and assembly elections as people troop out to exercise their franchise on Saturday morning.
The voters, especially in parts of the Municipal and Nasarawa Local Government Areas, thronged their polling units as early as 7:00 a.m.
The election personnel and materials also arrived as early as 8:00 a.m. at various polling centres, especially at the Emir’s Palace, Kwalli Police Station, School For Arabic Studies and the Old Kano State Library.
Other polling units that witnessed the development were those located in Gidan Makama Primary School, Unguwar Gini Comprehensive Health Centre, Magwan Primary School, and Government Junior Secondary School, Race Course.
There was also total compliance with the order restricting the movement of unauthorised vehicles in the city with the streets virtually deserted.
Shops, shopping malls, restaurants and other places of human endeavour remained closed in compliance with the police order.
Low Voter Turnout in Abia
Saturday’s governorship and assembly elections witnessed low voter turnout in some places in Abia.
Peoples Gazette correspondent who visited the state’s Osisioma Local Government Area (LGA) reported that voting materials started arriving in polling units at about 8:30 a.m., but the voters were yet to arrive.
Chijioke Anyanwu, a party agent in Amasator Ward 3 Polling Unit 92, said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials arrived with election materials at about 8:00 a.m.
He, however, added that voting was yet to start because no voter had turned out to exercise his franchise.
Inadequate Means of Transportation in Niger
There was inadequate means of transportation to convey materials to the voting centres in Niger State on Saturday.
In Chanchaga Primary School, a collation centre in Bosso LGA, the challenge had delayed the movement of electoral materials, ad hoc staff and security personnel to the 42 polling units in the area.
Stanley Ibeh, a Supervising Presiding Officer (SPO) at the centre, told journalists that the distribution of sensitive and non-sensitive materials started at 5:30 a.m., but for the vehicles to move the personnel and materials to the polling units.
“We were given two vehicles – a Hiace bus and a Hiace truck – to convey the polling officials, materials and security personnel to the 42 polling units in this area,” he said.
Mr. Ibeh said no other challenge was encountered in the distribution of materials, except the inadequate vehicles to move officials and materials.
Heavy Security Presence in Ibadan
There was a heavy security presence within the Ibadan metropolis on Saturday as voters trooped to the polling centres to exercise their franchise.
Soldiers mounted roadblocks and enforced the restriction of vehicular movements.
The soldiers also mounted roadblocks around the Mobil roundabout, Akinyemi area and in front of the police headquarters at Eleyele, stopping vehicles not on election duties and forcing them out of their vehicles to sit down and observe the goings-on.
Officials of INEC, corps members and unarmed police officers were also seen moving in various chartered buses to polling units as early as 6:55 a.m.
Some of the voters, who spoke with journalists, said they had to walk to their polling units since there was a restriction on vehicular movement.
At New Adeoyo road, a voter, Mohammed AbdulAzeez, commended the security situation around the area, attributing it to the tension recorded in the build-up to the election.
“We can all see the tension on Thursday when political parties attacked and killed their supporters. So I think the mobilisation of security is a welcome development. I want to believe this will encourage the electorate to come out to cast their votes and return home safely.
Late Arrival of Electoral Materials in Bauchi
Some agents of All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Saturday, decried the late arrival of INEC officials and materials at Haruna Memorial Primary School ward 029 in the Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi state.
Speaking with journalists, Mouktar Gidado, the PDP observer at the polling unit, said he arrived at the venue precisely at 8:00 a.m. when election materials should have arrived.
“However, I don’t know why the materials arrived at 9:20 a.m., and voting has not yet commenced though the electoral officers are on ground now.
“I want to appeal to INEC that there should be a departure from the late arrival of election materials. It is 9:30 a.m., and voters are still waiting,” he said.
Mr. Gidado, also a media aide to Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, said that apart from the late arrival of election materials, everything was going smoothly at the polling unit.
Also speaking, Abdullahi Gidado, the All Progressives Congress (APC) party agent at the polling unit, decried the late arrival of election materials.
He said some voters wanted to return home, but he convinced them to stay.
Although, elections will not be conducted in Anambra, FCT, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and Osun States where off-cycle polls are held at different times, electoral processes in other parts of the country is ongoing.
INEC has already scheduled the elections in Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo for November.
