Low turn out in Ogun council polls

Voter apathy, generally low turn out reported in the election to elect councillors and chairmen in the 20 local councils in Ogun State.

P.M.News reporter covering the election in Ijebu division of the state said voters shunned the election.

Controversy had dogged the election as the ruling ACN government was accused of imposing unpopular candidates.

There is also a division within the opposition PDP.

Gov. Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun admitted that there was a low turnout of voters.

The governor told newsmen that only about 25 percent of voters turned out in his Ward 11, Unit 12, Ita-Iyalode polling centre in Abeokuta metropolis.

“It was not the same as what happened when we did the general election in 2011.

“Any election that you are having 25 percent participation, I think it is not too bad however.

” If you look at our registration in this polling unit, we have about 25 percent of those that registered.

“ You will discover that even the one they had last week in Edo State, if you look at the turn out really, they had about 30 to 40 per cent turn out.

” Fillers from most of other areas show the same thing, particularly in Ogun Central Senatorial District,” he said.

Amosun also lamented the logistic problems that had attended the conduct of the election, saying it was a learning process.

Abeokuta situation report

Local Government Council election held in Ogun State today was almost marred by poor turn-out as well as serious mass apathy on the part of the State electorate.Though the election could be described as relatively peaceful with heavily armed security operatives manning streets and patrolling towns and villages in the State, majority of the polling booths witnessed very scanty number of voters as many of them said they did not know much about the candidates.

Some of the voters, who spoke with P.M. NEWS, said they only decided to come out to exercise their rights not necessarily because they are satisfied with the candidates, but because it is their duty.In some polling units, accreditation ended as early as 10 am due to the poor turn-out and electoral officers were seen idling away in some circumstances.P.M. NEWS also witnessed heavy restriction on movement as no vehicle, whether commercial or private, was allowed to move. Only election observers and officials taking part in the exercise were allowed to move around.

Some of the voters also complained that they could not find their names in the voter registers. Many of these set of voters had to return to their houses when they could not find anyone to address their complaints.

P.M. NEWS also notes that some shop owners opened for business while others saw it as an opportunity to have a good sleep.It was also a time for drinking as some residents gathered in clusters around bars and joints.One of the residents, who spoke with P.M. NEWS at Abeokuta North, said many of the residents decided to stay indoors because they had no knowledge of their candidates.”Unlike previous elections when candidates would take their time to campaign and make the people know their plan in government, this is not the case.”We do not know most of the candidates and I can tell you that they don’t have grassroot support.”They came from outside the State just to contest. If I may ask you; how do you think these kind of people would understand our problems and challenges?” Yusuf Ajani asked.Some other residents complained of imposition of candidates against some of the political parties.

According to them, the people are aware that some people had started the race only to be told they cannot contest out of sheer display of power by some party chieftains.”For example, we all knew that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) as a party, sent the name of Musiliu Akindele to the Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission as the truly certified candidate for Odeda.”But just days before the election and after this Akindele had done a lot of job preparatory to the election, his name was suddenly substituted with that of Sulaiman Adebayo, who was not known prior to the election, but who I can tell you defected to the ACN from the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP),” another resident, who gave her name as Mrs. Aminat Bode, complained adding that the situation was the same in almost all the Local Government Areas of the State and that this had resulted in serious protests among party faithfuls and residents.”I’m sure this is the reason why many people decided not to come out for this exercise,” she added.

As at the time of filing this report, voting had commenced in polling units visited, but the exercise lacks the usual tension and anxiety which are characteristics of elections in the country as many say they do not bother about which candidates would emerge since many of them are not known and their programmes not clear.P.M. NEWS learnt that there had been a tussle in the ACN following the replacement of an original list sent to the OGSIEC with another list just few days to the election.A party member in the State, who craved anonymity, explained that after a list had been sent to the electoral body in the State by the State Secretary of the party, Alhaji Abimbola Awofeso, on 15 June, another list was sent by some highly placed individuals within the party.”This is the problem we are facing right now and I just pray the situation is resolved as soon as possible,” he said.

Voter apathy in Remo

There was a very low turn out of voters in Shagamu, Ikenne and Remo North Local Govermnet Areas of Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria, as at the time of filing this report, due to alleged imposition of candidates by the leadership of both the rulling Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the election.

In all the wards visited by P.M NEWS this morning, all the polling units were empty as the electorate refused to come for accreditation.Some of the electorate who spoke with our correspondent hinged their displeasure on the alleged imposition of candidates on them by their respective political parties.According to Kunle Ogunmakin, an ACN supporter,”here in Shagamu, the candidate they imposed on us does not even live with us in this local government. We learnt he his the governor’s candidate. “Democracy is all about the wish of the people and not the wish of some so called god-fathers. The way we practice our democracy here is disheartening. It is not encouraging at all,” he said.

Siyanbola Aremu said they have been campaigning vigorously since the last eight months only for his party to impose an unpopular candidate on them at the dying minute.”We have been campaigning since the last seven to eight months or there about but it was quite unfortunate that the party imposed an unpopular candidate on us at the dying minute. This people are not going to perform anything because they were imposed and will definitely dance to the tune of their god-fathers when they assume office,” he said.Siju Ogunbolade, a PDP suppoter said that he is not going to cast his vote for any candidate because he doesn’t even know which of the party’s candidate is genuine as he learnt his party submitted two candidate’s list to OGSIEC.”Is it that we are dumb or we don’t have brain? Or this our leaders thought that we don’t know what we are doing? Well, we are not going to vote because we know those that are our people and since the party doesn’t sees them worthy of holding elective offices, so be it,” said another aggrieved PDP supporter.

Meanwhile, reports reaching P.M NEWS from Remo North Local Government indicates that ballot papers and voting materials got to most of the polling units late.It was further gathered that some ACN leaders in the local government were been caught with bollot boxes and election materials this morning.Voting has comenced in the three local governments on a lowkey. There were also complaints of voters not finding there names on the ballot papers as at the time of filing this report.

Reported by Jamiu Yisa, Eromesele Ebhomele, Abiodun Onafuye