The election into the 16 local government areas of Kwara state was conducted on Saturday, seven years after it was last held in the state.
The last local government election was held in the state in November 2017.
Speaking after casting his vote at Idigba polling unit 004 of Adewole Ward of the Ilorin West local government area of the state at about 10:55 am, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara state commended the turnout of the electorate for the election, saying that democracy has come to stay.
“From what we can see here, the turnout is good. We wait for results to come out from various parts of the state. We can see that democracy has come to stay,” he said.
The governor, who described the conduct of the election as peaceful, commended the security agencies for their conduct and urged them to maintain the spirit.
While assessing the situation, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Ilorin South local government area of the state, Hon. Majeed Bolakale Podo, adjudged the process as peaceful and orderly.
“Everything is going on smoothly. There’s not been any complaints in all the wards in the Ilorin South. It has been peaceful and orderly so far.
Speaking on his program for the constituents if elected, Hon. Podo said, “If I emerge, chairman of my local government, I’ll follow in the footsteps of my governor because the governor is a performing governor.
Also speaking while monitoring the conduct of the election in parts of the Ilorin metropolis, the chairman of the Kwara State Independent Electorate Commission (KWASIEC), Mohammed Baba-Okanla, ascribed the reported delay in the commencement of the election to a breakdown in logistics.
“Some circumstances can cause delay. Some of the vehicles conveying election materials to polling units broke down, and we’ve found ways to amend the situation. You can see in this area now that normalcy has returned. In some of the places we’ve visited, there was no problem; it’s just that there was a late arrival of material. But as soon as we got there, situations were improved upon.”
Meanwhile, reports gathered from Offa local government area had it that the local government poll, which started peacefully, later witnessed alleged electoral malpractice, according to some electorate.
Some electorate in the town alleged that there was a lower number of election materials as against registered voters and thus refused to continue voting.
The situation, it was gathered, made the Offa community leaders call for discontinuation of the election to avert a likely breakdown of law and order in the area.
Senator representing Kwara Central senatorial district, Mallam Saliu Mustapha, in an interview after casting his vote at Gambari Ward I, Ilorin East local government area, appreciated the people, KWASIEC, and the state government on their effort to have a peaceful and cordial environment for the conduct of the election.
“Right from my house to this place, I’ve observed a peaceful electioneering process going on, and I hope at the end of the day, my party, the APC, will emerge victorious so that we can continue the good work that the APC government led by Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is doing,” he said.
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