OFFICIALS of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are currently waiting for voters to arrive and cast their ballots at some polling units visited by Channels Television in Kebbi State, as voting gets underway in the Zuru State House of Assembly by-election.
Our correspondent noted that at Alhaji Budo Polling Unit in Rafin Zuru Community, INEC officials are currently waiting for voters to arrive and cast their ballots.
INEC officials are sitting idle and waiting for voters to cast their votes
News Point Nigeria reports that a low turnout of voters in some polling units visited across the area.
In Zuru town, residents were seen going about their normal business activities, with shops, filling stations, and other commercial centres remaining open.
At Mango Waje Polling Unit in the Manga area of Zuru town, voting commenced at 9:14 a.m., with only a few voters in the queue at the time of observation.
As of 9:31 a.m., some officials of INEC were yet to arrive at their designated polling units. Channels Television observed that some election personnel were still awaiting further instructions before proceeding to their assigned polling units.
Speaking shortly after casting his vote at Mango Waje Polling Unit, the Kebbi State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abubakar Kana Zuru, attributed the late arrival of voters to the early morning hours and expressed confidence that the party would emerge victorious in the election.
According to him, the exercise was progressing smoothly, adding that voter turnout was encouraging despite the rainfall, which delayed the arrival of many voters at polling centres.
At Alhaji Budo Polling Unit in Rafin Zuru Community, the APC candidate for Kebbi South Senatorial District, Muhammad Jafar Gajere, cast his vote and commended the electorate for participating in the exercise. He described the by-election as a litmus test of the party’s popularity ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Also speaking, the Speaker of the Kebbi State House of Assembly, Salihu Dangoje, who was in Zuru to monitor the exercise, expressed satisfaction with the turnout of women voters at Suffi Polling Unit in Zuru town.
This newspaper observed the presence of security personnel at all the polling units visited.
In several polling units, voters had already cast their ballots and returned home, while officials of INEC awaited the close of voting before commencing the counting and collation of results.