18th March, 2023
Low voter turnout was recorded in several polling units in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor, Rivers, in Saturday’s Governorship and State Assembly elections.
In Rumuomasi Ward 4 Polling Units 10 and 11 (Shell Junction), elections commenced at 8:30 a.m. but few voters came to cast their votes as at 11:06 a.m.
Polling Units 49, 51 and 54 (Rumuobiakani Town Hall) and units 14, 15, 16 and 17 (Woji Ward 6) also experienced a similar situation as voters came out in trickles to vote.
However, the election was peaceful and orderly with police personnel stationed at each polling station.
In Unit 45 Ward 4 (Oginigba), the Presiding Officer, Miss Confidence Okafor, said that only one person had voted in the unit as at 10:30 a.m.
The Presiding Officer of Unit 37 Ward 8 (Aba Road), Henry Orji, said voting commenced in the unit by 8:30 a.m. but only a few persons had voted.
Some of the voters, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), attributed the apathy to doubts over the transparent conduct of the election.
The PDP agent in Unit 51 (Rumuobiakani), Michael Ogonda, partly blamed the low turnout on the late arrival of INEC officials and materials during the Feb. 25 elections.
“In the last elections, INEC officials arrived around 12 noon and in some units, started the accreditation and voting around 2 p.m.
“So, people may start coming out in the afternoon based on their experience in the Presidential and National Assembly polls,” he said.
Another agent, Stanley Woko of the Accord party, attributed the low turnout to concerns over the safety of voters and the peaceful conduct of the polls in the state.