Elections in all 23 local government areas of Benue State on Saturday witnessed low voters’ turn out across most polling units Daily Trust on Sunday observed.
Our correspondent, who monitored the exercise, reports that apart from low turnouts in some polling units, voters were not particularly enthusiastic as most of them went about their normal businesses.
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The exercise, however, was generally peaceful, even as commercial and social activities went on undisrupted.
Earlier, the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BESIEC) announced April 30, 2022, as new date for the council elections in the state as against the scheduled May 7, 2022 before it was shifted back by one week.
BSIEC’s Chairman, Tersoo Loko, at a press conference which heralded the exercise, said that some of the political parties that were billed to participate in the election include the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Labour Party (LP) as well as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Our correspondent reports that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had earlier said it would not take part in the elections.
Also, the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in Benue claimed it just heard about the polls from media reports and would not be participating.
Meanwhile, the Acting Chairman, Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions of Nigeria, Barrister Jossy Eze, who spoke to journalists in Makurdi while monitoring the elections, said he particularly noted that voters were not intimidated into voting.
“So far, in the places we visited I noticed that the election was peaceful; there is general voter apathy as regards the number of voters, viz-a-viz the number we have seen from the ballot boxes,” Eze added.
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