Residents of Borno State turned out on Saturday to vote for local government chairmanship and councillorship positions, despite the absence of leading opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Our correspondent, visiting voting centres in Konduga Local Government Area and Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, reported that polling began at 8:30 am with six political parties on the ballot: the All Progressives Congress (APC), Boot Party, Labour Party, Peoples Redemption Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party, and Social Democratic Party.
The PDP had announced its withdrawal from the elections, citing distrust of the electoral commission and the high cost of nomination and expression of interest forms.
PDP spokesperson Amos Adziba stated in a press release titled “Why we’re boycotting Borno LG polls” that the commission had not provided sufficient assurances of a credible and fair election.
“The high cost of forms, combined with a lack of trust in the electoral body, makes participation untenable for our party,” Adziba said.
He also criticised the failure of the state government to amend the electoral law to allow ward-level results for councillorship elections and local government headquarters results for chairmanship elections, alleging this could facilitate electoral malpractice by the ruling APC.
In response, Chairman of the Borno State Independent Electoral Commission, Tahir Shettima, said the commission had consulted all stakeholders before setting the fees and was operating within constitutional powers.
“The chairmanship form costs ₦500,000. A comparison with other states shows this is reasonable, given the current economic conditions. We cannot compel any party to participate, but we welcome those who choose to,” he said.
Voters at various centres reported a smooth and orderly process.
Ali Musa of Dalori Walori polling unit in Konduga described the exercise as “peaceful and well-organised,” while Tijjani Abdullahi at Mandarari polling unit praised the arrangements, noting the absence of confusion or violence.
Some voters, however, raised concerns about communication regarding movement restrictions.
Kida Hadiza of Maiduguri Metropolitan Council said, “The exercise is commendable, but the government should clarify in advance whether movement will be restricted on election day.”
Details shortly…
