Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Former Senate President, Dr Adolphus Wabara, has argued that the low turnout of voters that marked Saturday’s governorship and house of assembly polls, was a serious signal that Nigerians were losing confidence in the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, following the brazen manipulation of the outcome of the February 25 presidential and national assembly elections.
Wabara who stated this in an interview with our Correspondent, however, commended INEC for the peaceful conduct of the governorship poll.
The former Senate President who voted at his Ohambele polling unit at Ukwa East Local Government Area, also said that there was an observable improvement in terms of logistics and early commencement of polls.
“I want to commend INEC for an improvement today. They were here early and better organised than what we saw on February 25.
“But unfortunately, people did not troop out en masse today like they did in the last election. It is probably Nigerians now feel that their votes no longer count.
“It could also be as a result of the threat circulating in the social media where someone threatened to kill anyone that would vote against a particular candidate.
“So, people feel like sitting at home and watch from a distance.
Similarly, Abia State Inter Party Advisory Council, IPAC, Ceekay Igara, commended INEC for the peaceful conduct of the exercise.
Igara who said he voted at Unit 29, Isiama Ward Ohafia, noted that voting started early and was progressing peacefully unlike the previous exercise.
The IPAC boss, however, alleged that one of the front-line parties in the state was involved in vote buying.
According to him, agents of the affected party were giving voters between N1000 and N1500 to influence them.
He urged Abia voters not to mortgage their future because of peanut.
In a separate interview with our Correspondent, former Leader ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa also noted that the polls were orderly and generally peaceful.
Senator Ohuabunwa who voted at Arochukwu said voting commenced much earlier in the ancient town unlike during the presidential and national assembly polls when election material did not arrive until about 4:00 pm.
On the turn out of voters, he said it was encouraging although not as massive as was recorded in the presidential and national assembly elections, blaming it on the manipulation of the outcome of the previous exercise.
He said that people’s morale became so badly dampened following the manifest irregularities that characterised the exercise.
Ohuabunwa noted that INEC had betrayed the confidence of many Nigerians by deliberately violating its own rules during the February 25 presidential and national assembly elections.
