By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa
Voting was thrown into confusion in the early hours of Saturday in the Lokogoma area of Abuja, after a voter discovered that her designated polling unit appeared to be non-operational, raising concerns of potential disenfranchisement.
Inya Ode, a media personality and resident of EFAB Estate, arrived at Polling Unit 030 to cast her ballot in the FCT Area Council Elections, only to find the location deserted and devoid of any electoral officials or materials.
In a video posted on her Facebook page, a frustrated Ode documented the empty street where the polling unit was supposed to be situated. She noted that even local security personnel were oblivious to the election process.
“This is actually supposed to be Polling Unit 030 in EFAB Estate, Lokogoma, where I came to vote, thanks to my husband who dragged me out. But this is the polling unit and there is nothing here,” she said.
She added, “In fact, the security people are very unaware of anything happening. At the end of this street, people are just having a great time exercising; it has become like an outdoor gym. So it is very confusing. Was the polling unit moved? There is no information about that.”
With the clock approaching 8:30 a.m., Ode expressed concern over the lack of communication. “Will the election happen, or will it not? It is already 8:27, and we can see other polling units have already been set up elsewhere,” she lamented.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had scheduled the council polls to commence by 8:30 a.m. and run until 2:30 p.m. across the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory.
As of the time of this report, it remains unclear whether the polling unit in EFAB Estate was relocated or inadvertently omitted from the final list of approved voting points, a situation that threatens to disenfranchise numerous voters in the area.
