Voter Apathy, Irregularities, Violence Mar Katsina LG Polls

Francis Sardauna

The Local Government Council Elections in Katsina State was faced with low turnout of voters, violence and electoral irregularities in some local governments visited by THISDAY.

It was further observed that only fewer voters turned up at polling units visited despite the state government’s declaration of yesterday as work-free day to enable people to exercise their constitutional right.

The Katsina State Independent Electoral Commission, (KATSIEC), had distributed sensitive and non-sensitive materials for the elections on Sunday to allow for early commencement of the process yesterday.

But the materials  arrived most polling units late, while in few local governments materials for the elections were not seen at all.

In Kankara, there were no sensitive materials, result sheets, supervisors as well as returning officers for the local government election in the area.

Apparently miffed by the scenario, the Electoral Officer in charge of the council, Idris Barau, declared that there was no local government election in the area.

He told journalists at the premises of the KATSIEC in Kankara that the chairmanship and councillorship elections did not hold in the area due to what he termed uncertainty.

Barau also cited non-availability of returning officers and supervisors as his reasons for the cancellation of the exercise in the security-proven local government.

He said: “As a result of uncertainty in the Katsina State office of the State Independent Electoral Commission in Kankara, I hereby declare that election into chairmanship and councillorship election would not take place on this day the 11-04-2022”.

In Bakori Local Government Area of the state, election materials were reportedly set ablaze by some aggrieved youths over alleged deployment of the  materials without the result sheets.

One of the youths, Sani Abdullahi, accused the  ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and some government officials of rigging the election in the area.

Also, in Danmusa in the local government, electoral materials were reportedly vandalised by some members of the APC and government officials who allegedly stormed the KATSIEC office on Sunday night.

The state acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Salisu Lawal Uli, while addressing journalists in Katsina, accused the ruling APC of massive rigging.

He alleged that the APC officials, in collaboration with security personnel, had hijacked the voting materials in Kankara, Danmusa, Jibia, Rimi and Baure local government areas of the state.

He said: “There is no local government election in Katsina state. If you take Danmusa for instance, Sunday night, the KATSIEC office was vandalised and  sensitive materials were carted away by people in uniform

He said:”If you look at what happened in Kankara, it is virtually similar to what happened in Danmusa. If you go to Baure, the election materials there too were carted away. It is the same story in Jibia”.

But the state APC Chairman, Aliyu Sani has expressed confidence in the process, commending KATSIEC for conducting free and fair elections in the state.

According to him, “There is no rigging in this election. The election is going on smoothly across the 34 local government areas of the state”.