Barbara Bako, Abuja.
Voters at the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Estate area of Nyanya, Abuja, did not start voting as at 9: 50a.m. due to confusion in voting procedure. The confusion started when voters, whose cards indicate their polling unit to be 020, were told by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials that there were many variants of 020 Polling Unit.
There are 020, 020A, 020B and 020C polling units clustered at the FHA, with 020 alone having six voting points. The unavailability of substantial INEC officials at the venue did not help matters as National Youth Service Corps members on ground appeared overwhelmed by the massive crowd. The Presiding Officer for PU 020B and a corps member, Uba Ayuba, told journalist that security officers suggesting multiple conflicting instructions and anxious voters were putting pressure on election officials. However, just before sending this report, voting has commenced in PU 020C. Meanwhile, Karu village called Angwan Haisawa which is 005 started accreditation and voting by 8.35.
The disabled and elderly were allowed to vote first. Party agents insisted that campaign banners of political parties and candidates around the polling station must be removed. Also many people were not aware of the finger to use to vote and complained that INEC did not create enough awareness on the matter.
Comments are closed.