Voter Enthusiasm Dims A Bit In Katsina

Amid peaceful ambience and orderly conduct by the electorates in Katsina state, the Governorship and State House of Assembly election commenced as early as 8:04 with the accreditation of would be voters. The exercise however witnessed a very low turnout while the bustling excitement noticed during the conduct of National Assembly and Presidential elections in the state was visibly missing from today’s exercise.

At Governor Ibrahim Shema’s polling station at Television viewing center at Hayin Gada in Dutsinma, out of the One Thousand, One Hundred and Seventy – Four registered voters, only Eight Hundred and Eighty-Eighty were accredited to vote at the end of accreditation at about 12:30pm.

Similar turnouts were recorded at the popular Modoji Primary School where 4 polling stations were situated. At one of the polling units with code number 012 within the Modoji Primary School, out of the One Thousand, Three Hundred and Sixteen registered voters, only a mere Four Hundred and Forty- Nine voters were accredited to vote. Just about 34 percent of the registered voters who were expected to cast their votes at the polling station.

The polling clerk who spoke to P.M News told our reporter that he worked as the Polling Officer as the Youth Corps member who was the Polling Officer in the two previous elections failed to show up for duty today as a fallout of the post Presidential election violence which rocked some Northern states including Katsina state. The Polling Clerk; Bashir Ibrahim Serki, also said that a total number of 1300 ballot papers each were issued to the polling station by the Independent National Election Commission for the Governorship and House of Assembly elections.

At yet another polling station at the same venue with code number 013, similar low turnout of voters was also observed. Out of the Eight Hundred and Thirty- One registered voters, only Three Hundred and Eighty – Four persons were accredited to vote by close of accreditation, a mere 45.8 percent of registered voters.

Governor Shema, alongside his wife; Hajia Fatimah and their two sons were accredited at about 10:05 am but returned to cast their votes at about 12:45 pm. The Governor praised the security situation in the state noting that the joint teams of Police, Civil Defence and military personnel have created a secured ambience in the state enabling voters to perform their civic responsibilities without fear or intimidation.

The Governor, who expressed appreciation to his supporters for coming out to vote, called on other contestants to follow the legal channels if they are aggrieved with the outcome of the election rather than incite their supporters to take to violence. He noted that it is God who determines who the winner of an election would be.

The Public Relations Officer of the electoral body in the state; Mr. Mohammed Musa, also confirmed that the turnout of voters in the state was remarkably low but could not attribute the low turnout to anything in particular. He observed that the turnout in the locations he visited in the Local Government Areas were not up to 50 percent.

The Commandant General of the Nigeria Civil Defence and Security Corps; Mr. Ade Abolurin was also in the state to oversee the operations of his men who were drafted in the state as well as across the nation to shore up security during the elections.

He stated that Two Hundred and Twenty operatives of the Corp were deployed across the states of the federation for this election and that he was in the state as part of monitoring and surveillance effort both to boost the morale of his men as well ensure that they are doing the job for which they were deployed to do.

The Commandant General noted that his organization had identified some areas as flashpoints where adequate security needed to be provided and this observation formed the backdrop of the deployment of his men across the federation.

By Nnamdi Felix / Katsina