A member of the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room, Ene Obi, has called on residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to turn out in large numbers for the ongoing area council elections, warning that refusing to vote amounts to surrendering one’s civic responsibility.
Speaking on Sunrise Daily on Channels Television on Saturday, Ms Obi said citizens must recognise the power of participation in shaping local governance.
She noted that declining to cast a ballot is, in itself, a decision that shapes the outcome of the election.
“If you say you are not going to participate in politics, you have already opted out because in your gap nobody can take your place in terms of citizens’ responsibilities,” she said.
The election
The FCT Area Council election is being conducted across the six councils, Abaji, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kwali, Kuje and the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
In all, 637 candidates from 17 political parties are contesting 68 positions, made up of 62 councilor seats and six chairmanship offices.
While five of the area councils have 10 wards each, AMAC, the largest council in the territory, has 12 wards.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the FCT has 1,680,315 registered voters. Of this figure, 1,587,025 residents who have collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) are eligible to vote in 2,822 polling units spread across the territory.
To facilitate accreditation and voting, INEC deployed 4,345 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines for the exercise.
PREMIUM TIMES correspondents have been deployed across the six area councils to monitor accreditation, voting procedures, logistics, and to provide updates as the process unfolds.
Early deployment, minor hitches
Providing updates from the field, Ms Obi said observers under the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room were stationed across the area councils to track compliance, logistics and voter turnout.
She said she had visited four polling units in AMAC earlier in the day and received reports from other councils, including Kuje, Abaji, Kwali and Gwagwalada.
According to her, election materials arrived early in many polling units, with some officials setting up as early as 6:50 a.m. She noted that presiding officers appeared professional and insisted on proper identification of observers.
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However, she cited a situation at a polling unit located within a post office compound where gates were locked, forcing officials to relocate voting activities outside the premises.
Despite such challenges, she said there were no reports of major disturbances as of the time she spoke.
Voter apathy
Ms Obi, a former Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, cautioned that it was too early to determine the level of voter turnout but warned against voter apathy.