Economic hardship, disinterest caused low voter turnout in Lagos by-election: Politicians, observers

Politicians and observers in Surulere, Lagos State, have disagreed on the reasons for the low turnout of voters in the by-election in Surulere Federal Constituency.

Saturday’s by-election in Surulere Federal Constituency I was marred by poor turnout across various units and wards.

At Polling Unit (PU) 017 Ward 8, Alhaji Masha Road, Adeniran Ogunsanya, as of 2:00 p.m., only 198 voters came to vote out of the 1,154 registered in the area.

Also, at PU 037 in the same area and at the same time, only 41 voters of the 172 registered voters came to vote.

Similarly, at PU 014, Ward 08 at Elizabeth Fowler Memorial School, Surulere, Lagos, Surulere Constituency I, where Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, cast his vote, observation showed that there was voter apathy.

The record showed that less than 10 per cent of registered voters came to vote, as only 63 were accredited and voted out of 669 registered at the end of the election.

At PU 002 at State Junior Grammar School (Special), Itolo St., Eric Moore in Surulere, where former Governor Babatunde Fashola was expected to vote, only 45 of 750 registered voters came to exercise their franchise.

Speaking on the low turnout, Salimon Arisekola, the PDP agent at PU 037 in Ward 8, said, “The election is very peaceful, but we have a very low turnout.

“I think what is responsible for this is the circumstances in the country now, where people are hungry and angry.”

Also speaking, Ashimiyu Adeyemi, the APC agent in the same unit, added that the low turnout might be unconnected with the fact that most people were disenchanted and unhappy with the situation.

In her reaction, Islamiat Badru, a domestic observer with the National Council for Women Society, told journalists at Polling Unit 017, Alhaji Masha Road, that the election was credible but marred with low turnout.

On reasons for the low turnout, Ms Badru, who noted that most people seemed not to understand what by-election was all about, added that it might be unconnected to the economic difficulty in the country.

Ibrahim Mukaila, the PDP agent for PU 017, who described the poll as violence-free, said it was sad that people did not come out to vote.

“This is as a result of the situation in the country where people have lost hope in their representatives,” he said.

Reacting, Tunde Bafunsho, an INEC accredited election observer from the Organisation of Justice for Equity Sustenance, told journalists in Ward 8 that INEC properly organised the election.

“The low turnout can be attributed to people’s attitude to the electoral process based on the financial, economic and high level of insecurity in Nigeria.

“However, it is after the final collation of results that we will know the percentage of the turnout, but I believe it might not be above 30 per cent,” Mr Bafunsho said.

Speaking, Bilikis Aremu, the APC chairperson, Ward G2, Adeniran Ogunsanya in Surulere Constituency I, who described the exercise as cool and calm without any hitch, said the turnout was not impressive compared to general elections.

Ms Aremu attributed the low turnout to a lack of strict restrictions on the movement of people in the constituency.

“The low turnout has nothing to do with the economic situation in the country; it is because there is a movement of people,” she said.

INEC had said that 140,377 voters registered in Surulere Federal Constituency I, while only 121,111 of them collected their permanent voter cards (PVCs) to vote. 

(NAN)