Local government elections in Ogun State on Saturday were largely characterised by a low turnout of voters and logistics challenges at the early stage in most council areas.
Correspondents of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who monitored the exercise across the state, report that the elections scheduled to be held between 8 a.m. and 3. p.m. did not start until 11.00 a.m. in most of the polling centres.
Most of the polling units visited at Oke-Ilewo and Adigbe areas of Abeokuta South Local Government Area as well as Ibafo and Mowe areas in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area were virtually empty as of 11. a.m.
Election materials and electoral officials left many local government headquarters, including Ado-Odo/Ota, Abeokuta-North and Sagamu as late as 11. a.m.
Voting, however, started at around 10.30 a.m. in some polling units in Ikenne Local Government Area, including Ward 3, polling units 2 and 3 in Iperu, where Governor Dapo Abiodun was expected to cast his vote.
Residents who turned out for the election expressed disappointment over what they described as a “poor arrangement” for the exercise.
One of them, who simply identified himself as Johnson, told NAN at polling unit 1, ward 15 in the Ijeja area of Abeokuta-South council area that he was not disappointed at the low turnout.
“People don’t usually reckon with local government elections because of large-scale rigging,” he said.
Meanwhile, the restriction order on movement was strictly enforced in most of the local government areas, as officials of the state Traffic Management Agency were seen mounting roadblocks to ensure compliance.
A heavy presence of security personnel was also noticeable in major streets across the state to ensure peace and orderliness. (NAN)
