The Nation Newspaper

Tag: large turnout

  • Peaceful conduct, large turnout for assembly election in Adamawa

    The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Tili Abubakar, and Resident Electoral Commissioner in Adamawa State, Kassim Gaidam, have expressed satisfaction with the conduct of voters and officials as well as turnout for the supplementary House of Assembly election that took place in two state constituencies yesterday.

    The DIG said he was happy over the security arrangement for the conduct of the election in Nasarawo/Binyeri State Constituency in Mayo-Belwa LGA and Uba/Gaya State Constituency in Hong, the two constituencies where rerun election was conducted to pick two remaining House of Assembly members after 23 were elected in the main House of Assembly election on March 9.

    Election was earlier postponed in Nasarawo/Binyeri because a candidate for it died just before hand, while voting in some units in Uba/Gaya was cancelled over violence.

    DIG Abubakar who spoke to newsmen in Nasarawa Binyeri while monitoring the conduct of the election, said he could see that INEC was fully prepared, and that the security personnel put in palace managed the elections well.

    “Adequate security personnel were drafted across all the polling units where election is taking place, to provide cover to INEC officials, the electorate  as well as observers of the elections. So far, we have not received any report of breach of peace,” he said.

    On his own, the state resident electoral commissioner, Kassim Gaidam, said voting started at 8:00 am in almost all the units, and  there was no reported challenge in either state constituency where election was taking place.

    And turnout is impressive in all the units that I have visited, with everyone conducting themselves peacefully,” he said.

    As one of the states in which the supplementary governorship election was scheduled for the day, the day was without event in LGAs other than Mayo-Belwa and Hong where the state Assembly rerun was held, since the governorship rerun which would have held in 44 polling units across 14 LGAs did not hold owing to a court injunction against it.

     

  • Large turnout of voters in Abia

    Abia State Governor, Dr.Okezie Ikpeazu, has commended the conduct of today’s Presidential and National Assembly elections in the state, but he, however, called for improvement by INEC to make the process less cumbersome.

    Speaking with newsmen at AlaukwuOhanze, ward 7 Obingwa after casting his vote with his wife at 10.50 am, Ikpeazu noted that there seems to be a surge by people and wondered how INEC can accredit all and have them cast their vote before 2pm.

    In his reaction after casting his vote, Chief IkechiEmenike of All Progressives Congress (APC), who arrived the polling unit with his wife, Ambassador UzomaEmenike, Nigerian ambassador to Ireland, frowned at the lackadaisical attitude of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). He voted at his 011 ward, UmukabiaOkpuala Market square, at about 1.15pm.

    Senatorial candidates of Abia North Senatorial Zone on the platform of the All Progressive Congress and the All Progressive Grand Alliance, former governor Orji UzorKalu and David OnuohaOgbaarespectively also commended the peaceful conduct of the elections in the zone.

    At Igbere, the home town of Kalu, security operatives were on hand to forestall crisis.

    Kalu who spoke after casting his vote said he was impressed with the process and the large turnout of voters.

    Reacting to the election in Umuahia North, the state PDP Chairman, Sir Johnson Onuigbo, said the election was calm despite the inability of INEC to make materials available on time, stressing that they started voting by 1pm.

    However, at Abia State University,Uturu (ABSU) which has eleven polling units, only five ballot boxes instead 33 ballot boxes were brought by INEC. Also, the member representing Abia Central at the senate, Senator Theodore Orji, has complained over the late commencement of polls in his Ugba Primary School unit, his voting centre and many parts of Umuahia metropolis.

  • Large turnout as schools resume

    Large turnout as schools resume

    Except in a handful of states, schools nationwide resumed for a new academic session on Monday following the usual long vacation.

    Our reporters, who went round schools in Ikorodu, Agege and Ojo areas of Lagos, witnessed a large turnout of pupils, many who were seen engaging in environmental sanitation of the school premises.

    Virtually in most places visited, pupils came out enmasse. While some pupils laughed and hugged their schoolmates for not having seen them for a long period of time, others simply gathered in the assembly hall singing praises and praying.

    At about 9am on Monday, our reporter saw a young woman around Cassidy Ojo area of Lagos State, dragging her boy  who repeatedly yelled as he struggled to free his hand off her mother  to avoid going to school.

    “You are proving too stubborn Jude, you must come with me to school today,” said the angry mother as she spanked the pupil, who cried the more as each spank landed on his buttocks.

    At King of Kings Private School in Okokomaiko, pupils were happy to be back in school. Cleaners were also seen tidying up the premises.

    In Ikorodu, there was large turn out by pupils, who flocked their respective schools.

    At the Omolaiye Primary school, Transformer Agbede in Ikorodu, the pupils were seen praying as they gathered on the assembly ground early morning.

    One of the teachers, who declined to mention her name, told our reporter that though the students were yet to enter the class for proper attendance to be taken, she was sure that each class would have almost all its students in attendance.

    One of the pupils who introduced himself simply as Ayomide said she was very delighted to return to school after the long break.

    “I am very glad to be back to school. I know I cannot progress if I do not continue my education,’ Ayomide said.

    The scenario was the same at Agbede Community Junior/Senior Secondary School, Agbede, as pupils trooped out.  Most of them were seen scurrying hurriedly into the school premises to avoid lateness.

    Meanwhile,  Ansarudeen Primary School, Ajegunle did not open for resumption. The Nation observed there were neither pupils nor teachers sighted in the premises.  One of the residents, who simply identified herself as Zainab, said it was because the school was located within Ogun State territory which is yet to join other states for resumption.

    Zainab said:” My brother attends this school. They are not going to be opened today because this side is Ogun State territory and I heard that schools in this region would not be resuming this week.”

    Meanwhile, The Nation learned that owing to the present economic recession, most parents were unable to pay their wards’ school fees ahead of resumption. Some parents even visited their children’s schools to plead for extension of time while others paid half their children’s fees.

    Further investigation also shows that some schools have already concluded upping the school fees in order to meet up with the current economic challenges.

  • APC urges large turnout as Buhari visits Osun

    APC urges large turnout as Buhari visits Osun

    OSUN State All Progressives Congress Chairman Prince Gboyega Famodun has urged residents to come out enmasse to welcome President Muhammadu Buhari, who will be visiting the state tomorrow.

    In a statement issued yesterday  in Osogbo , the party chairman said the citizenry have a duty to support the President in his effort to clean up the country of corruption.

    He added that corruption is the cause of the economic collapse that has brought hardship to the majority of the citizenry.

    According to Famodun, Osun joined the rest of Nigerians to vote massively for change and the people’s hope that the President would effect change remain unshaken in spite of the difficult challenges that economic recession poses.

    “We in Osun are not in any doubt that a bright future lies ahead for the state under the Presidency of Muhammadu Buhari and his team, who are working tirelessly to reverse the economic downturn that has hit Nigeria so badly, especially Osun State.

    “Since the APC came to power, Osun has experienced revolutionary changes in human capital development, educational  renewal, commercial expansion, agricultural invigoration, massive youth employment and empowerment, including environmental sanitation like no other time in Osun’s history,” the chairman asserted.

    He urged the President to see for himself the progress that has been made in Osun under the leadership of “our visionary governor, Rauf Aregbesola.

    Famodun called on the President to do all he can to help lighten the state’s burden, which, he said, “is among the worst hit by the country’s economic difficulties”.

     

     

  • Kano poll: confirm large turnout of voters at Kano LG polls

    Forum of Independent Electoral Commission of Nigeria (FOSIECON) has confirmed that there was impressive turnout of voters in the just concluded local government and councillorship elections held across the 44 local government areas of Kano State.

    The national chairman of the Forum, Justice A.F.Adeyinka (rtd) and its national secretary, Dr. Hanatu Usman Biniyat in a communiqué, made available to Reporters in Kano yesterday, commended Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSEIC) for the successful conduct of the council polls and urged them to maintain the tempo of voters’ participation.

    Also, the delegates observed that there was timely and adequate supply of materials to all the polling units in the areas visited.

    The delegates also observed that three political parties participated in the polls in the areas visited, namely APC, Labour Party and the PDP.

    “The conduct of the exercise was generally orderly and above all peaceful at the time of the visit, adding that the ‘turnout of voters’ was very impressive in the areas visited.”

    It added that security arrangements in general were adequate, while security personnel were present and active in their duties.

    Representatives of the forum came from 24 states of the federation, where they also commended KANSEIC for its peaceful conduct of the elections.