Protests broke out in Suleja, Wushishi, Lavun, and several other Local Government Areas in Niger State as voters alleged electoral fraud in Saturday’s local government elections in the state.
Members of opposition parties and voters alleged irregularities such as disenfranchisement and manipulation in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as a result have rejected the results from the elections.
There were reports of late arrival or in some cases, the complete absence of electoral officials and materials at polling units in the 25 local government areas.
This has made the Opposition parties to accuse the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC) of conniving with the APC to orchestrate low voter turnout and manipulate results.
As at the time of filing this report midday on Tuesday, official results still showed the APC to be leading with wide margins in both chairmanship and councillorship races.
A voter Musa Usman Wada, at the Veterinary Polling Unit in Nassarawa A Ward, Chanchaga LGA, alleged that the register used had been altered, disenfranchising hundreds of voters.
“We expected about 1,500 voters based on the register used in past elections, but the one displayed was under 500 names.
“Many came as early as 6 a.m., but voting didn’t start even by 11 a.m. People got tired and left,”Wada said.
According to opposition parties, elections did not held in Rijau LGA.
In a viral video, the PDP Returning Officer for Rijau, Abdullahi Shehu Mohammed, alleged that most electoral materials were withheld at the NSIEC office.
“Of the 40,000 ballot papers meant for Rijau, only 35,800 were distributed.
“As of 5 p.m., the Electoral Officer was nowhere to be found, and no supervisors or presiding officers were seen. We want the world to know that no election was held in Rijau.”
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) Chairman for Chanchaga LGA, Isah Barau, said the election was “neither credible nor transparent.”
“There were 220,000 registered voters, but only 110,000 ballot papers were distributed,” he said, adding that “in polling units with 1,000 registered voters, just 300 ballot papers were provided. Voting began late, and materials were shared at the Minna Central Police Station instead of the NSIEC office.”
The PDP Secretary in Chanchaga, Bello Nasiru Gabas, said his party officials were harassed and detained.
“On Friday night, when we demanded to know what happened to the missing ballot papers, security agents fired shots and teargas to disperse us,” he said. “Our deputy chairman was arrested and our vehicles seized. This was not an election; it was daylight robbery.”
The comments of the state APC spokesperson, Musa Danjuma Sarkinkaji, could not be obtained as calls to his phone were not returned.
Also, no words yet from the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC) to respond to the allegations made by oppositions parties
