By Sarah NEGEDU
Voting in Bwari Area Council during Saturday’s Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections was marred by delays and low voters turnout, as the late arrival of election materials disrupted accreditation at several polling units.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, ADHOC staff in Bwari staged a brief protest over delayed feeding allowances, insisting on receiving their Friday night and Saturday morning allowances before moving to their assigned polling units.
A credible source within INEC told The Abuja Inquirer that the staff initially refused to be deployed until were paid the statutory welfare package.
INEC responded swiftly, paying each staff N6,000, after which the election materials were dispatched across Bwari, though not without delay.
Our correspondent, who monitored the polls, reported that at Ward 02, polling units 50, 51, and 52, election officials arrived barely minutes to 11 a.m., nearly three hours after accreditation was scheduled to begin. Voters, many of whom had gathered early, expressed displeasure over the tardiness. At Ward 02, Polling Unit 007, initial challenges with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) network added to the frustration.
In Bwari Science School, popularly known as Bwari Central, where Polling Unit 010 is located, turnout was noticeably low. Similar patterns were observed in Ushafa and Dutse, boundary areas of the FCT. Some residents, including a septuagenarian retiree, complained that extended waiting times were physically taxing for older voters, urging INEC to improve the voting process to accommodate citizens with health concerns.
The situation in Bwari mirrored trends across other councils. Voter apathy was particularly visible in Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC, and Bwari, where polling units recorded only trickles of voters in the first hours of accreditation.
At several units, election officials were left idle for long stretches, while materials remained largely untouched.
One presiding officer noted, “Sincerely, we did not expect the turnout to be this poor at this time. We have about 1,900 voters to accredit and attend to, but surprisingly, not more than 20 have turned out since we started accreditation at 8:45 a.m. It is obvious there is serious voter apathy in this election.”
The low turnout was not lost on the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, who, while monitoring polling units in Karshi and Karu Chief’s Palace, also observed the sparse voter presence in some parts of the city.
He said, “The only issue we have observed is low voter turnout, particularly within the city, and that has always been the case. However, when you go to some of the satellite towns, the turnout is quite impressive.”
