FCT Council Polls: Late arrival of officials, materials, low turnout mark early hours in AMAC
…as voters complain of missing names on register …some polling units commence accreditation, voting amid sparse attendance Voting in the ongoing Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area council elections commenced on
...as voters complain of missing names on register
...some polling units commence accreditation, voting amid sparse attendance
Voting in the ongoing Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area council elections commenced on a mixed note across polling units within the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC). Late deployment of officials and low voter turnout characterised the early hours of the exercise on Saturday.
Visits to polling units in Wuse, Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3, Maitama, Garki, and Asokoro, all within AMAC, indicated uneven preparations by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and a scanty presence of voters in many centres by mid-morning.
At Polling Unit (PU) 032, Airwaves on Durban Street, Wuse 2, INEC officials, police officers, and an agent of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were on the ground as of 8:29 am, but no voter was in sight.
Similarly, at PU 058 on Sultan Abubakar Way, officials and security personnel were present by 8:48 am, but there were no voters or party agents at the unit.
However, at PU 007, Security Post along Sultan Abubakar Way, Wuse Zone 2, officials had set up by 8:54 am, with party agents and prospective voters seen checking the register for their names.
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In some centres, the late arrival of INEC officials delayed the commencement of voting. At PU 033, Rockview Hotel on Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, no official was on site as of 8:36 am, although two agents of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and a lone voter, who said she had been waiting since 7 am, were present.
Voting had commenced at PU 008, Government Secondary School (GSS), Zone 3, as of 9:01 am, though turnout remained low. Likewise, at PU 001 near Habib Bank, Zone 1, voting was already underway by 9:34 am.
At PU 013, Asokoro 3 near the ECOWAS Secretariat, voting commenced before 10:02 am, but sources said many voters who had arrived earlier left after finding that officials were not yet on the ground.
Around the State House, experiences differed among three adjacent units — PUs 120, 131, and 121. PU 120 had yet to record any voters as of 10:15 am, PU 131 had about three voters, and PU 121 recorded relatively higher participation with about 15 voters.
Across most centres visited within AMAC, the dominant complaint among voters was the inability to locate their names on the voters’ register. Observers attributed this situation to voters checking the wrong sections of the register.
Overall, turnout appeared significantly low in many of the polling units monitored across the Abuja Municipal Area Council as the exercise progressed into late morning.
Also, voter apathy surfaced in two polling units in the Karu Municipal Area Council, with only a handful showing up hours into voting.
At Unit 031 on Court Road opposite the Upper Area Court, just four out of 160 registered voters had cast their ballots by 10:41 a.m.
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An INEC ad hoc staff member, who spoke to our reporter on arrival, said officials reached the site minutes before 8 a.m. after struggling to locate it.
“Voters have just been trickling in,” the staff noted, as party agents loitered around the unit amid a quiet atmosphere.
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The sluggish pace persisted at nearby Unit 033 along City College, close to the Primary Health Care Centre, where only 16 of 1,380 registered voters had turned out by the same time.
INEC officials expressed optimism for improved participation later in the day, but the low turnout raises concerns over voter engagement in the area.
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In a similar vein, the late arrival of electoral officials and election materials delayed the commencement of voting at polling Unit 007 located in LEA Primary School, Pyakasa, in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
The 15-seater dark blue Hiace bus that conveyed both sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials and polling officials, made up of members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), arrived at the venue at 9.15 am.
Even though voting was scheduled to commence by 8.30 am, actual voting commenced at 10.30 am after the officials set up the polling booths.
Despite the late arrival, there was an impressive turnout of voters at the polling unit who waited patiently until voting started.
Other polling units in Lugbe, ACO, and Chika also experienced similar delays.
However, the atmosphere is generally peaceful.
