The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has lamented the low turnout in the ongoing Area Council Elections.
The minister, who toured some polling units in Abuja interacted with electoral officials.
At a polling unit in Karshi, the minister met a few electoral officials without any voter.
Accorsign to Daily Trust, after exchanging pleasantries, Wike asked: ”How is the turnout?”, to which the ad-hoc official, a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), said: ”We have only about 10 percent of registered voters who came out to vote.”
The Minister further asked: ”Only 10 percent? When are you supposed to start counting?”
”By 2:30pm, sir,” the corps member responded, to which Wike said: ”Hopefully there will be another 20 percent.”
The media earlier reported that the sorting and counting of votes started across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja in the Area Council elections on Saturday.
This is amid the noticeably low turnout as residents navigated a heavy security presence and movement restrictions imposed ahead of the exercise.
The media had reported that security operatives were stationed at strategic junctions and polling units across Abuja, conducting stop-and-search operations and enforcing compliance with the curfew announced prior to the polls.
While authorities maintained that the measures were aimed at ensuring a peaceful and credible process, many residents said the restrictions discouraged participation.
At several polling units in Kubwa, Bwari and Gwagwalada, electoral officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were observed attending to a few voters compared to previous elections.
Some voters who turned up early expressed frustration over delays and uncertainty regarding movement within their communities.
In the Nyanya and Gwagwalada areas, security patrol vehicles moved intermittently, with armed personnel maintaining visible surveillance around voting centres.
Although there were no immediate reports of major violence so far, the atmosphere remained tense in the early hours of the exercise.
Some residents blamed the low voter turnout on the curfew, which created confusion about when movement was permitted.
A voter who pleaded anonymity said: “People were not sure if they could come out freely. Many decided to stay back to avoid any issues with security agents,” he said.
The media’ team ran into an incident at Liberty Junction in Byazhin, Kubwa, where a detachment of armed policemen prevented residents, particularly those using vehicles to access their polling units from moving freely.
The security operatives also arrested a mechanic who was accused of being in possession of military camouflage in his vehicle.
The mechanic disclosed that the camouflage and the vehicle belonged to his client, a military officer. However, not satisfied with his explanation, the police arrested him alongside the vehicle and whisked him away, insisting that the owner must report to the station for proper identification.
Election observers noted that compliance with the movement restrictions appeared high, but the side effect was reduced voter enthusiasm.
The media also observed the absence of political party agents in some polling units.
However, security officials insisted that the measures were preventive and necessary to forestall any breakdown of law and order. They urged residents to cooperate with authorities and exercise their civic responsibility peacefully.
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