Voters’ apathy mars Benue LG election

Elections in the 23 local government areas of Benue State yesterday witnessed a low turnout of voters. Our correspondent who monitored the exercise reports that there was general apathy, a development some observers said was due to the non-inclusion of the Senator Ahmed Makarafi’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the polls. The Makarfi-led PDP had earlier dragged the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC) to a Federal High Court in Makurdi, over rejection of its list of candidates but the case was thrown out barely 24-hours before the election on the ground that the court does not have jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

State chairman of the Makarfiled PDP, Sir John Ngbede, had on the basis of the ruling against them on Friday, enjoined members of the party to sit in their homes and not go anywhere near the polling units while he assured them that the party would appeal the matter.

Most voters went about their normal businesses by defying the movement restriction.

Our correspondent observed that the Manila market along David Mark bypass, Apir Village Market, Total filling stations, commercial motorcyclists as well as intra-bus transportation including other private establishments carried on their businesses as usual without any recourse to the directive by the state’s Commissioner of Information and Orientation, Lawrence Onoja Jnr, that all businesses be closed until 3pm.

A respondent, Kyado Daniel, told our correspondent in an interview that he did not perform his civic duty because he was not a happy man due to the economic hardship.

At the time of filing this report, results of the elections contested by eight political parties, were being collated.