Voter apathy, late arrival of materials mar Kano polls

Low turn out of voters and late arrival of materials characterised yesterday’s local government election in Kano State, with candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) likely to sweep all the 44 chairmanship and 484 counsellorship seats.

The presumption is premised on the major opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) announcing it boycotted the election. Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje voted at his Ganduje ward in Dawakin-Tofa Local Government Area at about 12:20 p.m.
 
Ganduje, who voted after joining a 20-minute queue, disclosed: “My vote is not superior to any other in a democratic election. Governor’s vote is not superior to that of a carpenter or any other person.”
 
When contacted on the delay in the distribution of electoral materials, spokesman for the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), Ismaila Rimin-gado, blamed human factor and unforeseen circumstances.There was no reported case of violence during the exercise, which was still ongoing as at 6 p.m.