governorship polls * Most violence recorded
in oil hub Rivers state g Voting extended to
Sunday.
LAGOS/PORT HARCOURT: Voting for
Nigeria’s powerful state governors was
extended on Sunday in several states after
ballot box snatching and violence in some
districts, particularly in oil hub Rivers state,
electoral commission officials said.
The 36 governors are among the most
influential politicians in Nigeria, Africa’s
biggest oil producer and economy, with
budgets larger than those of small nations.
Observers and voters said the turnout to
elect 29 governors and state assemblies on
Saturday was low compared with the
presidential vote last month, which was
considered the freest and fairest yet and has
paved the way for the first democratic
transfer of power in the country.
“The election in some units of 6 councils was
inconclusive and a fresh election will be held
today,” Rivers resident electoral
commissioner Gesila Khana told journalists.
In the presidential poll, Muhammadu Buhari
of the All Progressives Congress (APC) beat
President Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s
Democratic Party (PDP) with 15.4 million
votes to 13.3 million.
A written statement from the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) in
Rivers said the governorship election was
“cancelled in all the places where electoral
materials were snatched”.
INEC headquarters in the capital Abuja said
the election went “very well” across the
country but there were 66 instances of
violence at polling units, with highest number
seen in southern and south-eastern states.
Rivers had the highest incident rate at 16,
followed by Ondo, Cross River, Ebonyi and
Akwa Ibom.
On Saturday, at least 10 people were killed in
election-related violence across the country.
On Sunday, a police spokesman in Ebonyi
state said the PDP chairman of one
government area was shot by thugs in his
house.
More than a dozen people were killed during
the presidential polls, mainly due to attacks
by Islamist extremist group Boko Haram,
which has been waging a six-year
insurgency in the northeast of the country.
A large protest, shoot-outs in several towns
and attacks on INEC property delayed the
start of voting in Rivers.
Gubernatorial candidates threatened to
protest should INEC announce any results
and current governor Rotimi Amaechi called
the polls a “sham” after attending a 2,000-
strong APC protest in the state capital Port
Harcourt on Saturday
INEC said 5.2 percent of polling units across
the country did not open until 1 p.m. (1200
GMT).
Polling in a few other states was also
extended or was being debated, while
collation and counting was still on-going in
many others. Some results are expected to
be announced on Sunday.
Borno state INEC spokesman Tommy
Magbuin said polls re-opened in three local
government areas in the northeastern state
after ballots were not delivered to polling
stations in time. INEC missed the name of
one candidate and had to reprint them last
week.
In the south-eastern state of Imo, ballot
boxes were stolen in three districts, which
could mean a vote extension while in
Anambra, polls in one area will be pushed
back due to irregularities and violence, INEC
officials said.
In Bayelsa, where only state assembly
elections were taking place, the vote was
rescheduled in eight out of 24 constituencies
due to insufficient electoral materials and
other areas could be re-done as well due to
skirmishes. reuters
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