FCT Elections: Wike Laments Low Turnout; Says Only 10 Percent
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has lamented over the low turnout in the ongoing Area Council Elections. The minister, who toured some polling units interacted with electoral officials. At a polling unit in Karshi, the minister met a few electoral officials without any voter. After exchanging pleasantries, Wike asked: ”How is the turnout?”, to which the ad-hoc official, a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), said: ”We have only about 10 percent of registered voters who came out to vote.” The Minister further asked: ”Only 10 percent? When are you supposed to start counting?” ”By 2:30pm, sir,” the corps member responded, to which Wike said: ”Hopefully there will be another 20 percent.” Dr. Moses Paul, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), had earlier blamed the low turnout on the restriction of movement. He said the turnout was far lower than expected and attributed it to what he described as confusion created by the restriction directive. He said he had lived in AMAC for about 40 years and had never witnessed such a situation, noting that the development appeared like “a state of emergency” over what he considered unwarranted.
