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From Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja
There were pockets of crisis in parts of Kogi State on Saturday as some heavily armed thugs invaded some polling units shot sporadically and disrupted the election process killing one person
The disruption of the election took place in Anyigba, Dekina ,and Abocho all in the Eastern senatorial district while some polling units at Okekoko ward, Post Office unit of the local government secretariat in Kabba Bunu, and some other voting units in Ekinrin Adde, Egbeda Egga in Ijumu Local Government Area of the state were also recorded.
According to an eye witness account, one notorious thug named Akaihaba was shot dead while attempting to snatch ballot boxes at Agwudoko area in Anyigba in Dekina local government. Akaihaba was said to be a university graduate who just completed his NYSC.
At Udaba-Dekina and Tundun Wada polling units, ballot boxes were allegedly destroyed by the gunmen who were allegedly sponsored by a woman officer who retired from local government in Kogi State.
Also on Friday, the PDP senatorial candidate in the Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan alleged Governor Yahaya Bello ordered a bulldozer to excavate the road leading to her residence in Ihima, thereby disallowing her to move out of her residence.
Governor Bello, however, denied the allegation.
Aside from that, the election was generally peaceful and orderly as there was massive turn out in some places while there was low turnout in other places.
It was observed that voting materials arrived early in some polling units while registration and voting commenced simultaneously as early as 8.24 am.
Governor Bello commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the smooth conduct of the elections, assuring that APC would triumph at the end of the process.
Governor Bello stated this at his country home in Agassa in Okene Local Government Area of the state shortly after he cast his vote at Unit 11, Agassa, Okeneba, Ahache ward.
According to him, the BVAS used in his polling unit initially malfunctioned, but the problem was rectified. The machine went to serve the electorate who queue to exercise their franchise.
“I appreciated INEC for the adequate preparation and execution of the 2023 general election. The BVAS malfunctioned at the beginning, but was rectified and it functioned well.
“I commended the electorate for conducting themselves in a peaceful manner; the election was to enable Nigerians elect credible leaders who have a track record of performance and can lead Nigerians to greatness.
“The turn out in my polling unit was very high, and there was this enthusiasm in the people willing to cast their votes peaceful. The process was commendable; INEC officials arrived at the polling units on time with enough voting materials.
Also Senator Smart Adeyemi commended the INEC for the peaceful conduct of the elections. He observe that for the first time people trooped out to vote without been induced by money or harassed, and asked INEC to keep it up.
One of the spokespersons of Atiku presidential campaign organisation, Senator Dino Melaiye also said he was impressed by the large turnout of the electorate at the poll, describing the conduct of the election as “peaceful and orderly without any problem.”
He commended INEC for the BIVAS, saying it had really enhanced the process of voting, and expressed satisfaction that INEC officials were timely in bringing out the voting materials as scheduled
Melaiye cast his vote at about 10. 05 am at his Iluafon polling unit in his home town, Aiyetoro, Kogi State.
