By Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku
Abuja – Nigeria’s Federal Capital City (FCT) shut down completely over council polls that were held today Saturday February 12, 2022. Human and vehicular movements were restricted in and out of the city, resulting in a poor voter turnout.
Events monitored in the city of Abuja indicated that the “election for chairmanship and councillorship kicked off in the six area councils of the federal capital territory (FCT) on Saturday,” the Cable newspaper said.
Some Abuja residents who spoke with our correspondent said they were not happy with the stay at home order over the elections in Abuja.
“Going to vote in an election is a voluntary thing. With their blanket order, they prevented so many people from eking their living in the face of an already harsh condition in Nigeria,” Uche Okoro, a taxi driver told Alltimepost.com.
Jabi, Berger, Wuse, Area 10, Mararaba Nyanya, Gwarimpa and all other economic hotspots in Abuja were like ghost towns. In Jabi, we sighted stern looking policemen who mounted a roadblock by Zenith Bank, ThisDay and Utako part ordering commuters back home.
One of the policemen confirmed to Alltimepost.com that the restriction was an order from the highest levels of power, and it was to last the whole day.
Already, Nigerians are counting their losses. A market woman who told Alltimepost.com that she did not know about the restriction became stranded at the Jabi ring road with her cartons of frozen fish. She was to go to her shop in Lugbe where she has a restaurant.
“Unlike in the 36 states where state electoral commissions conduct the council elections, the FCT council elections are conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“According to the commission, 14 political parties and 472 candidates are participating. They include Action Democratic Party (ADP), All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), African Action Congress (AAC) and Labour Party (LP),” the Cable Newspaper reported.
Restriction from government may not be the only reason Nigerians apparently refused to come out and vote. Forty eight hours before the local government elections, Abuja shut down again over fuel scarcity resulting from suspected adulteration. Shortage resulted in sharp increases in transport costs.
For instance, most Abuja residents who paid one hundred naira from Jabi to Berger before the fuel scarcity began to squeeze an extra hundred naira more to get to their destinations. Those at Wuse and Area 10 were hit badly, as taxi drivers cashed in and plied shorter routes for high fares.
