Voters turnout fairly in Benue LG election

Elections into all 23 Local Government Areas of Benue State on Saturday witnessed a fairly good turnout of voters across most of the 3, 691 polling units in the state.

Our correspondent who monitored the exercise reports that there was orderliness in most areas of the polling station.

The Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC) had earlier posited that only five political parties including, PDP, SDP, Labour party, ACP and APGA are participating in the elections.

State Chairman of the PDP, Sir John Ngbede, who voted in his home LGA of Agatu, noted that the party was fully prepared for the elections and hopes to win all the seats.

But, the APC which on Friday distanced its from the exercise on grounds that it would be a ‘kangaroo’ exercise enjoined members of the party to sit in their homes and not go anywhere near the polling units.

Acting Secretary of the APC in the state, James Ornguga, alleged that the election was already programmed to handpick and declare all PDP candidates.

However, the exercise which went on peacefully at the time of this report was also believed to have witnessed a fair turnout because there were no usual restrictions of movement between 8:am and 3:pm of elections.

Daily Trust on Sunday reports that roadsides markets, petrol filling station and commercial vehicles operated while commercial motorcyclists as well as intra-bus transportation including other private establishments carried on their businesses as usual.

A voter and PDP chairmanship candidate for Guma LGA, Caleb Aba, told our correspondent in an interview that he was impressed by the turnout as well as the obedience to social distancing rule by voters at his Uvir polling unit.

Meanwhile, Governor Samuel Ortom who voted at Ako polling unit in Gbajimgba area of the state, expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the exercise, saying that the was impressive.

“There would have been more people here but we advised the people not to come out at once, and as I’m voting am going away. We have also advised people that once you vote you leave the unit to allow others to come in and exercise their franchise.

“In most of the places candidates have been returned unopposed because some of the other parties did not field candidates for the election; they however did in one or two places but here in Guma there is no opposition and no single party fielded a candidate against us and once you have one third of the votes, you’ve won. This is just to exercise our franchise, otherwise they would be no need to come.

“So far, so good. From BSIEC I’m told that all materials are distributed in the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the 276 council wards. We are quite confident that by the grace of God we shall win in a land slide victory because we worked for it; our primaries were free of rancour,” Ortom added.