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Voters arriving for the by-election at a polling centre
The local government Council election in Kwara State was conducted in a peaceful atmosphere on Saturday.
The election, which was monitored in various parts of the state, witnessed voters’ apathy.
The election started late due to the late arrival of poll officials and materials at the polling stations.
PUNCH Online reports that elections did not start until 9.30 am in most polling units in Ilorin, the state capital, and other parts of the state.
Our correspondent gathered that though commercial vehicles deserted the roads following vehicular movement restrictions in the state, some market women displayed their wares at the markets as they didn’t bother to participate in the elections.
It was gathered that some market women and traders in Ipata and Ganmo markets in the state capital embarked on their business activities during the local government Elections on Saturday.
A market woman, identified as Mrs. Iyabo Alata, told journalists that she preferred to monitor her business rather than spend time casting her vote.
“This is the only option that will put food on my table and not vote. I prefer to monitor my business than to go and be spending my time voting,” she said.
Another trader, Mrs. Aishat Usman, said that her business is her pride and that she can’t stop it because of the election.
“We have been voting since we were born, and we have yet to see any impact on those we voted for in the past.
“My business is my pride. I don’t care about the election because nothing will come out of it. The same story every year,” she said.
However, Kwara state governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, who cast his vote at Idigba polling unit 004 of Adewole ward in Ilorin West local government area of the state, commended the turnout of the electorate for the local government elections.
The governor added that democracy has come to stay.
“From what we can see here, the turnout is very okay. Democracy has come to stay,” he told journalists.
AbdulRazaq commended the security agencies for their conduct and urged them to maintain the spirit.
While assessing the situation, the All Progressives Congress candidate for the Ilorin South local government area of the state, Majeed Podo, judged the process as peaceful and orderly.
A former Special Assistant of the governor who is the Peoples Democratic Party agent in Ilorin West local government area, Comrade Musbau Esinrogunjo, said that electoral officers were not posted to many polling units.
Esinrogunjo also claimed that there were deliberate efforts by the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission not to provide election materials, such as result sheets, to many polling units.
Esinrogunjo said, “In Ogidi, Oloje, Pakata and Warah wards of the local government, sufficient ballot papers and result sheets were not given to the polling units. In a polling unit of 740 voters, only 350 ballot papers were provided while in another polling unit where we have 500 voters, 200 ballot papers were provided.”
Also speaking, while monitoring the conduct of the election in parts of the Ilorin metropolis, the chairman of the Kwara State Independent Electorate Commission, Mohammed Baba-Okanla, ascribed the delay in the commencement of the election to a breakdown in logistics.
“Some circumstances can cause delay. Some of the vehicles conveying election materials to polling units broke down, and we’ve found ways to amend the situation. You can see that normalcy has returned in this area. In some of the places we’ve visited, there was no problem; it’s just that the material arrived late. But as soon as we got there, the situation improved,” he said.
