From John Adams, Minna

 

Former Head of State and Chairman, National Peace Committee, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) has said that

the voter apathy being experienced during the governorship/House of Assembly elections was expected, recalling that people got tired to vote sometimes, but could not give further reason.

Speaking after casting his vote at the Uphill polling unit in Minna, Abdulsalami appealed to the people to accept the results of the elections if they saw them as free and fair, stressing that there was a need for everyone to embrace peace in the country.

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But speaking with newsmen after casting his votes in Minna, former Niger State governor, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, said that the voter apathy was mainly due to the outcome of the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections whose results he said the people were disenchanted with.

According to him, the confidence of the people in the elections was based on the assurances given by INEC about electronic voting and how the results would be transmitted into the INEC server but the people’s hope were dashed when this did not happen.

According to him, “with what happen during the February 25 election, we were not happy. BVAs were supposed to be used, but it wasn’t used. Even in Niger State, we saw where BVAS were not used, but results came out and in some places; the people were more than the voting population.

“Therefore, if we see apathy today, it would be as a result of what happened on the February 25. People’s vote must count before democracy could be entrenched in this country.”