Low turnout mars Benue LG poll

The local government election held in Benue State, on Saturday, with low turn out of electorates in some polling units visited.

Tribune Online, who monitored the election in Makurdi and Guma local government areas of the state, reports that some polling units have few electorates on line to exercise their civic right.

Though, this is attributed to the social distancing rule directed by the State Independent Electoral Commission.

The State Governor, Samuel Ortom, who casted his vote at Ako polling unit around 9: 18 am said that the turn out of electorates was in bits to forestall crowding of people at the polling units.

Ortom, who expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the election, said the situation report across the state showed that the election was peaceful.

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According to him, “Vote and leave in order to give room for other electorates to also exercise their franchise.

“The Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC) has directed that in order to guard against the spread of COVID-19 only 30 electorates will be allowed at the polling units at a time.

“So, if you vote, you have to leave to allow others too to come and vote.

“I have the confidence that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will win overwhelmingly because, in most of the local governments, the candidates are unopposed.”

Speaking on why the boycott of the election by the opposition All Progressive Congress, Ortom said that the party (APC) right from the beginning did not show any commitment.

“We do not have any opposition. The All Progressives Congress (APC) did not show any commitment to the election.

“They did not pay the required fees. They went to court demanding that the election should be put off but they lost the case.

“The Court ruled that the election must hold. It would have been conducted before now as earlier scheduled but due to COVID-19 it was shifted to today,” the governor concluded.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE