The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has described the just-concluded FCT area councils’ election as peaceful, even as he expressed concern over low voter turnout in parts of Abuja’s city centre.
Wike, who monitored the exercise across several locations including Garki, Karu Chief’s Palace, Karshi, Kabusa and Keti on Saturday, commended residents for conducting themselves in an orderly manner.
“We thank God that everywhere is peaceful. The problem we have is low voter turnout, particularly in the city centre and that has always been the case.
“Going to some of the satellite towns like this polling unit in Keti, you can see that the turnout is quite impressive.
READ ALSO: Wike Monitors FCT Area Council Polls
“The low turnout of voters is very unfortunate. What is important, however is that the election is peaceful no violence, snatching of ballot papers or the ballot boxes-” he said.
The minister praised security agencies for maintaining order throughout the exercise. According to him, “they have done their job very well”.
“We used to have pockets of violence here and there, but in this case, we have not heard any case of reported violence in the polling units,” he added.
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Wike also commended the Independent National Electoral Commission for the conduct of the election, noting that the process had so far been hitch-free.
Addressing criticism from Ireti Kingibe, who had described the restriction of movement from Friday evening to Saturday evening as an “unlawful imposition of curfew,” the minister dismissed the claim as “very unfortunate.”
The senator, representing the FCT at the Senate, had publicly faulted the directive.
In response, Wike clarified that he did not declare a curfew but merely enforced a temporary restriction of movement with the approval of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure security during the polls.
“I never imposed curfew. If you read my statement, I said, with the approval of Mr President, movements would be restricted from 8: p.m Friday to 6:p.m today and this is not the first time.
“You can see that some people did not take time to read the statement and I don’t want to join issues with her.
“At the end of the election, when the results come out, then we will know,” he said.
The minister urged residents to sustain the calm atmosphere as results are collated, appealing for the same level of peace that characterised the voting process.
