Kwara State Holds Peaceful LG Elections

By Tunde Akanbi, Ilorin

The People of Kwara State North Central Nigeria have participated in Local Government elections which took place across the 16 local Government areas and 193 wards in the State.

The local election is held in the State for the first time in seven years as the last poll was held in November, 2017.

The election was contested among five political parties which are the All Progressives Congress, APC, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, All Peoples Movement, APM, Social Democratic Party, SDP, and Accord Party, AP.

Speaking after casting his vote at Idigba polling unit 004 of Adewole Ward of the Ilorin West local government area of the state, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara state commended the turnout of the electorate for the election, saying that democracy has come to stay.

“From what we can see here, the turnout is good. We wait for results to come out from various parts of the state. We can see that democracy has come to stay,”  he said.

The governor, who described the conduct of the election as peaceful, commended the security agencies for their conduct and urged them to maintain the spirit.

In the same vein, the Deputy Governor, Kayode Alabi described the process as being peacefully and also commended the people of the state for allowing a peaceful electoral process in their respective polling units.

The Senator representing Kwara Central in the National Assembly, Mallam Saliu Mustapha, expressed his optimism that the APC would emerge victorious at the local government elections.

He said the victory of the party at the polls would encourage Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq-led administration in the state to sustain the good work and deliver democratic dividends to the people.

Good Performance

He noted that the good performance of the Governor would manifest at the local government level and urged would-be candidates elected at the polls not to lower the bar.

The legislator also commended the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission, KWSIEC for what he described as peaceful conduct of the elections across the 16 local government areas of the state.

Also, the Senator representing Kwara North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Sadiq Umar showered Kwarans with encomium for striving to maintain peace and order during the exercise.

In the same vein, The Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu commended the electoral officers for what he described as the professional conduct of the election and also applauded the impressive turnout of voters.

“It was a seamless exercise done without much hassle, kudos should be given to the KWASIEC for the professional conduct of the exercise which ensured that the seeming delay in the arrival of materials did not debar eligible voters from exercising their civic responsibility, “ Speaker Danladi stated.

Similarly, the APC candidate for the Ilorin South local government area of the state, Majeed Bolakale Podo who spoke to newsmen adjudged the process as peaceful and orderly.

Meanwhile the State Chairman of PDP, Tunde Mohammed expressed his dissatisfaction in the conduct of the election accusing the state electoral body of foul play and unpreparedness.

“In my over 3 decades of being in active politics, I have never witnessed this kind of election, I can boldly say it that KWASIEC are unprepared and I can sense some foul play, but let me assure you that we’re monitoring the situation and we’ll take necessary actions when the time comes,” Mohammed said.

Reacting to the delay in the delivery of electoral materials reported from several polling units across the State, the chairman of the Kwara State Independent Electorate Commission, KWASIEC, Mohammed Baba-Okanla, ascribed the delay in the commencement of the election to a breakdown in logistics.

“Some circumstances can cause a delay, Some of the vehicles conveying election materials to polling units broke down, and we’ve found ways to amend the situation. You can see in this area now that normalcy has returned. In some of the places we’ve visited, there was no problem; it’s just that there was a late arrival of material. But as soon as we got there, situations were improved upon.” he said.

Due to the delay recorded, KWASIEC extended the voting time by two hours from the initial slated 2pm to 4pm to end ballot casting.

Officers and men of Nigeria Police, Nigeria Security, Civil Defence Corp and Nigeria Immigration Service were strategically positioned at all polling centres and major roads to forestall breakdown of law and other

Also, the Police had previously announced the restrictions of vehicular movements across the State.

Confidence Okwuchi