#NigeriaDecides2023: Voter Apathy Characterises Election In Ondo, Lagos

The turnout of voters in Saturday’s House of Assembly elections in Ondo State has been low.

Governorship election is not holding in the state.

Vehicular movement was noticed unrestrained, contrary to the restriction order by the police.

Although there were road blocks in major towns and cities, the vehicles were eventually allowed to pass through the barricades.

Most of the polling units visited by our correspondent in Akure metropolis witnessed a scanty turnout of voters and as a result INEC staff were virtually doing nothing.

At Fiwasaye Open Field, Akure, Ward 5 Unit 36 with 80 registered voters, as at 9.21am, the turnout was also very low, with a few voters walking in to cast their votes.

Despite the fact that INEC officials arrived polling units on time at 8:00 a.m., voting did not commence until around 9:00 a.m. in many units.

However, the outing appeared encouraging at Oba Ile, in Akure North Local Government Area, where voters trooped out in their numbers.

Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election in Ondo State, Eyitayo Jegede, lamented the low turnout, saying it could be due to the disappointment of the 25 February presidential and National Assembly elections.

He expressed the hope that before the close of the election, some voters might see the need to come out and cast their votes.

“The good thing is that the process is peaceful for now, and I have voted,” he said.

“We only hope that we see more voters turn out as voting continues.

“There is apathy, expectedly due to what happened in the last election.”

Hakeem Aderemi, a PDP agent at Polling Unit 07, Ward 09, Akure North, expressed satisfaction at the turn out, saying more voters could troop out later in the day, just before the end of the exercise.

Meanwhile, in Lagos state, the local government and councillorship election that held on Saturday witnessed a low turnout of voters as only a handful of people were at polling units to elect their council leaders and lawmakers.

At several polling units visited by PREMIUM TIMES, electoral officials, security officers, and party agents lamented the absence of voters in the election.

Voters strolled into polling units in ones and twos to cast their votes. No queue was observed at the polling units as a result of low turnout.

Many Lagosians opened for business on Saturday, with many seen at different bus stops trying to commute from one part of the state to another. This is despite movement restriction announced by the state government.

Youth and children also took to the streets playing football and riding bicycles among other fun activities.

Voter Apathy
At Agege, Ikeja, Mushin, and Ifako-Ijaiye areas, there was low turn out, except for few polling units where there was relatively fair turnout.

Our correspondent gathered that the widespread apathy was largely due to the perceived weakness of the opposition parties.

Many voters were uninterested in the voting process, saying the “outcome of the election is already known.”

Also at Ikorodu, Kosofe, and some parts of Shomolu LGAs, voters deserted polling units with only a handful of votes cast as of 1 p.m.

A voter, Usman Salisu, attributed the low turnout to the hardship being experienced by the people.

“Let us say the truth, we don’t really see the work of these local government chairmen. People don’t feel their impacts. Also, the votes we have been casting all these years, what is the benefit? I can’t blame anyone that doesn’t come out,” he said.

A similar situation was recorded at Apapa, Surulere, Lagos Mainland and Lagos Island LGAs.

A widespread apathy was observed as some polling units had less than 20 per cent of the registered voters coming in to vote at different times.

Meanwhile, in a statement by Yiaga Africa, observers reported that voters were absent in many polling units.

“As observed, there was reasonable compliance with the no-movement directive of the state government, however, voter turnout was abysmally low across the LGA’s/LCDA with voters absent in some polling units as of 11am,” the statement reads.

The election was generally peaceful with many polling units recording zero to low disturbance.
(With PREMIUM TIMES report)
=============

For More News Join Our WhatsApp Group Below: https://chat.whatsapp.com/CdPVxGOPHCI5Kd4ALZduZ7