Election for the governorship and state houses of assemblies have commenced in earnest all across the nation. However, one thing that is very obvious is the absence of large number of voters at the different polling units compared to what happened during the last presidential election on February 25.
Many have attributed the apparent voters apathy to what they experienced during the presidential election where the votes were allegedly manipulated in favour of an unpopular candidate. Others say they are fearful of their lives given the apparent lack of security in the midst of threats and unimaginable utterances from members of a certain political party who want to hold on to power by all means.
In some polling units at Ogba in Lagos, voters came out in trickles to cast their vote and leave. Party agents were the only ones sitting around. Some of them as you come in to cast your vote exchange pleasantries and try to whisper to you the candidate to vote. What is witnessed in most of the Polling Units is the peace and quiet of the grave yard; lacking is the enthusiasm that greeted the presidential election.
Mrs Rebecca Oboh, a petty trader in Lagos expressed fear about coming out to cast her vote with the presence of political thugs lining up areas in the street getting themselves high on drugs and alcohol.
“The government is not serious about guaranteeing our security, so if anyone loses his life, nothing will come out of it.” She said the best thing was for everyone to secure himself as much as he possibly can. “We hope for the best,” she quipped.
Mr Bassey Akpan, says he has lost confidence in the whole electoral process and was no longer interested. “I came full of enthusiasm that with the introduction of technology into the electoral process that our votes will count. And so we all thronged out in our numbers to vote in our preferred candidate only for those in government with the electoral body to steal our mandate, ”he said, adding that until the government is tired of ‘selecting’ instead of allowing the people to elect their representatives, ‘there is very little hope for the country.’
Some die-hard democrats, however, braced it to cast their votes despite all threats and the lack of security personnel at the Polling Units.
Mike Ben said, “we cannot allow these political thugs to stop us.” “ We will continue to strive to enthrone democracy,” he said. “We must not allow their voter suppression tactics to work,” Ben said, pointing out that the more determined the true democrats are to institute democratic principles and allow people’s choice to prevail, the better for everyone.
Reports have it that in some areas in Lagos, thugs and hoodlums allegedly chased voters who came to vote. Even the police officer deployed to that area reportedly ran away. Things calmed down after a while and people were allowed to commence voting again after the initial disruption.
In Delta state and across the country, BVAS machines were reportedly stolen and in some states kidnappings resumed.
Despite all of these hiccups, some areas of Lagos were relatively peaceful as usual and elections went on as planned.
The courts have however warned the electoral body, inec, to ensure that there is no repeat of what happened on February 25 during the presidential poll and ensure that election results are transmitted electronically without undue delays.
New governors are being chosen for 28 of the country’s 36 states as the opposition as opposition continues to reject the victory of the president-elect Bola Tinubu