Low turnout for Governorship and House of Assembly election.

No fewer than 18 people died during Saturday’s governorship and state assembly elections that were characterised by voter apathy nationwide.

Seven of the deaths were recorded in Ebonyi, five in Akwa Ibom, three in Rivers, and one each in Cross River, Benue and Plateau states where turnout of voters was also poor.

Some arrests were made by security agents in some states where ballot box snatching   and other electoral offences were recorded.

Reports from Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Delta and Bayelsa states showed that unlike the March 28 presidential and National Assembly polls, many voters chose not to exercise their civic duty on Saturday.

Voter apathy was also recorded in Enugu, Anambra, Kwara, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Cross River, Edo, Bauchi and Kano states.

Voters, including President Goodluck Jonathan; Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi; his Osun State counterpart, Rauf Aregbesola; the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Musiliu Obanikoro;   former Ekiti Governor Niyi Adebayo, and erstwhile governorship candidate of the Labour Party, Opeyemi Bamidele, gave   reasons for the low turnout.

Jonathan, who was not accompanied to his polling unit in Otuoke, Bayelsa State, said the polls on Saturday were not characterised by the same level of mobilisation witnessed during the preparations for the presidential election.

The President also said many voters in Bayelsa State did not come out to vote on Saturday   because there was no governorship election   in the state.

He said, “Naturally, different levels of elections generate different levels of interests. Presidential elections are quite interesting; governorship elections are quite interesting.

“If we were to have a governorship election in Bayelsa State, the mobilisation (would have been different). Of course, we need to mobilise the electorate to come out.

“For the House of Assembly elections, you know the interest is not as high as presidential or governorship election.”

The President, who also spoke on the chances of the Peoples Democratic Party in the elections across the country, stated that he was expecting the party to perform better.

He explained that while the PDP did well in some states on March 28, the party’s performance was not as good in some others.

INEC officials came out with election materials as early as 6am in Otuoke but the people failed to turn up for accreditation in most of the units.

The situation was such that nine of the polling units were told to move out of the Dame Patience Jonathan Centre where they were during the March 28 elections. The centre is described as traditional locations for elections in Otuoke.

Aregbesola said the low turnout showed that Nigerians had yet to appreciate the importance of the legislature in a democracy.

“The turnout of the electorate is very low. There were many people here two weeks ago when I came out to vote, but today, it is not like that. It still shows people don’t know how important the House of Assembly is in the state; they still need more orientation.” he said.

Obanikoro described as unexpected, the low turnout of voters in Lagos , saying the alleged   intimidation of voters at some polling units on March 28 could be responsible for it.

He said, “The activities of some persons, the intimidation, the harassment, the mobilisation of thugs to disturb elections on Lagos Island, Oshodi, some parts of Mushin and parts of Eti Osa could be responsible for the low turnout,” he claimed.

“This is possible because some sections of our society have been intimidated and threatened with death, “the minister added.

Adebayo and Bamidele blamed the poor turnout on people’s low enthusiasm.

Adebayo said, “Presidential election is more important to people. Once it held, people don’t show interest again. May be the story would have been different if governorship election had held in the state (Ekiti).”

He   blamed politicians and parties for not doing enough sensitisation and mobilisation of their supporters.

Bamidele, on his part, said, “Political parties don’t do 50 per cent of the job they are supposed to do; they are supposed to educate voters.”

Bamidele also   blamed the development on INEC. He said that the conduct of the presidential election before the others was the cause of the apathy.

The National Chairman, All Progressive Grand Alliance, Victor Umeh, attributed the poor turnout to voters’ discontent with the outcome of March 28 presidential and National Assembly elections.

The Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State,   Damishi Luka, told the News Agency of Nigeria   shortly after casting his vote   in Ningo, that the apathy was due to the result of the presidential election which did not favour   the PDP.

“The people are disappointed at the outcome of the presidential election and that was why they were discouraged to come out to vote as they did during the March 28 presidential and National Assembly elections,” he said.

But some people in Kwara State told SUNDAY PUNCH that   they did not vote because they had no doubt that the governorship candidate of the APC , Abdulfatah Ahmed, would win.

The residents , most of whom are supporters of the PDP , said even if they   voted, they were   very sure that Ahmed, who is also the state governor, would be re-elected.

Many of the states also   had cases of snatched   ballot boxes and other electoral materials.

In Ekiti for instance, ballot boxes were said to have been forcibly taken away by thugs in   some polling units in Ikole, Osin, Iludun, and Egbe Ekiti;   Calabar South in Cross River State, and in Ukum, Tarka   and Ushongu Local Government Areas of Benue State.

Our correspondent in Makurdi, Benue State gathered that people dressed in police uniform   aided some thugs to snatch electoral materials in Ukum, Tarka   and Ushongu LGAs.

A guard was said to have been   amputated by some thugs in Tarka for trying to stop them from   carting away materials for the elections.

Thugs were also said to have shot one of their colleagues to death   at a polling booth in one of the LGAs following an   argument over sharing of money.

In Edo State, Governor Adams Oshiomhole   said, “I have received reports, right now, from Esan West, Ward 3, Unit 7, where some PDP thugs have snatched a ballot box, seeing that they are losing, and carried away some ballot papers and I have forwarded the text to the Resident Electoral Commissioner.

“I have also received reports of ballot box snatching somewhere in Ikpoba Okha, again, by PDP thugs. This is the only aspect that is worrisome. I think there is also an incident in Okada.”