Enugu council election witness low voter turnout, late arrival of materials

• Gunmen attack polling units, kill two, burn vehicles
• APC not excluded, ENSIEC Chairman insists

The council elections in Enugu State witnessed low turnout and late arrival of materials in most parts of the state, even though the voting was generally peaceful.

At the Trans-Ekulu Primary and Secondary School in Enugu East with seven polling units, less than 30 people turned out as at 10:00a.m.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a presiding officer of the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) at the primary school, Miss Onyinye Ohazume, said that as at 9:45a.m., she accredited only 20 voters of the 613 persons that registered in the polling units.

“The turnout was not encouraging at all unlike other elections. In previous elections, people usually waited for the ENSIEC officials, but the reverse was the case yesterday. ENSIEC officials arrived at 8:00a.m. and were waiting for voters,” Ohazume said.

At New Haven, Enugu with eight polling stations, one of the presiding officers, Miss Nkechi Aniebonam, said voters did not come out unlike in other council elections.

“We arrived at 8:15a.m. and waited for voters to do accreditation. Although they were coming gradually, we have only accredited 14 persons of the 782 persons that registered in the polling station,” Aniebonam said.

Accreditation began at Uwani in Enugu South Council amid late arrival of election materials in some polling units.

But the exercise went on smoothly except at the Zik Avenue Primary School where election materials and officials did not arrive until after 10:30a.m.

An agent of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Emeka Uzor, said materials provided for the election at BMS were not enough, saying: “The stamp is not enough as different polling booths are using one stamp and ballot papers are yet to be stamped”.

“A voter was given two ballot papers to vote for councillor and this is not acceptable by my party,” he said.

The situation was the same at Igbariam Primary School and Union Boys Secondary School, Okpara Square and other polling units, as security agents were sighted in some areas.

However, chairmanship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu North, Emeka Onuora, expressed satisfaction with the exercise adding that turnout was impressive.

BESIDES, no fewer than two persons were killed, as gunmen attacked two polling units during the council election.

The Guardian learnt that the gunmen, who drove a Toyota Hilux van, reportedly invaded the polling units at Obeagu Ward III in Enugu South Council and another polling unit at Akpugo in Nkanu West Council.

They were said to have disrupted the exercise by destroying electoral materials after chasing away voters and in the process killed two persons, injured other and escaped and burnt two vehicles.

MEANWHILE, while reacting to alleged exclusion of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the election, Chairman of ENSIEC, Dr. Mike Ajogwu, said it did not exclude any political party from the poll.

He said the APC contested the election in all the 17 council of the state, adding only Ugochukwu Agballah, who became state chairman of APC on February 14, 2022 when he received Certificate of Return from the party’s national leadership did not contest at the poll.