By Our Reporters

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP was last Sunday celebrated its victory in the area council elections of last weekend in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. But it was not an easy victory. It was also not a tensed election as the election came and went leaving most of the electorate indifferent.

At  the end of the election, the PDP won the chairmanship in five of the six area councils losing only in Gwagwalada Area Council, an area that had in the past proved a tough nut for the ruling party.

Even though the FCT Minister was reported to have lost his polling ward, he would, however, be satisfied that he sufficiently delivered the capital city to the ruling PDP.

In Abaji, the PDP chairmanship candidate polled 8,933 votes, which is higher than the 8204 combined votes of the ACN, ANPP, CPP, PPA and SDMP.

For the Kuje seat, PDP scored 16,800 votes. Together, the six opposition parties that contested the seat – ACN, ANPP, APGA, CPC, SDMP and PPA scored 6419 votes.

Also in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), the PDP’s 16841 votes is higher than the 12, 266 votes jointly garnered by the AA, ACNN, ANPP, APGA, CPC, CPP, LP, UPP, SDMP and PPA.

File photo: Police guard some INEC’s voting material during election.

In Kwali, the result was PDP – 12,809 and opposition parties, 9142.  PDP almost repeated the feat in Bwari where its 9881 votes were very close to the 9941votes that the AA, ACN, ANPP, CPC, CPP, LP, SDMP and PPA jointly got

The ruling party, however, narrowly lost in Gwagwalada where its 11,502 votes were 94 votes shy of the All Nigeria Peoples Party candidate’s 11,596 votes.  The polls were indeed, characterised by logistic hitches  and a high level of voters apathy.

This was confirmed by a National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Mrs Gladys Nne Nwafor who supervised the exercise. She  decried the voters apathy during the polls  adding that the turn out was below 40 per cent.

Nne Nwafor, who is the INEC Commissioner incharge of  Imo, Enugu and Ebonyi states said this  while fielding questions from journalists immediately after  the FCT elections.

According to her: “The overall impression of the exercise is that the turn out is very low, even below 40 percent. I wouldn’t say it was due to lack of awareness.  Everybody was aware of the FCT elections.”

At many of the polling stations visited by our reporters, INEC adhoc staff which comprised mainly of serving members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) were seen sitting idly while waiting for voters.

For instance, an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) adhoc staff  at Karu ward within Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) said less than 100 voters showed up for accreditation out of the over 3000 registered in the area in 2011.

Speaking on voters’ low apathy, the Paramount ruler of the area, His Royal Highness, Chief Emmanuel Kyauta Yepwi, said that although INEC made all the necessary preparations for the elections as evidenced in the provision of all electoral materials, voters’ outcome was unimpressive.

He said: “We have been preaching for them (voters) to come out and vote so that we can select the right person we want. People came and after accreditation, they were told to come back by 12:00 Noon and you know Nigerian time factor.”

Commenting on the situation, Mrs. Okomudu Naomi, a voter at FCDA quaters said, voters apathy and lack of confidence in the leadership of the local councils is responsible for the poor turn out.

According to her, “the residents here are interested only in the Presidential and National Assembly elections but lack interest in the local council polls.  When you really look at it we are not feeling the impact of these local councils. The chairmen are not doing anything for us. It is the FCDA that cleans our streets and provide water for us. They don’t really care about the residents.

Nevertheless,  several cases of irregularities were also observed in some parts of the territory. Among such irregularities were late arrival of electoral officers and their materials. It is believed this situation,  could have discouraged many voters from exercising their civic right.

For  instance a female voter who turned up early for the accreditation exercise at  the polling station at CBN Junction, Karu said she went back  home to have her breakfast because none of the INEC officials had reported for duty. In many parts of the FCT, electoral officials arrived late at the various polling stations with their materials.