BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
The State House of Assembly election in Osun State on Saturday witnessed a low turnout of voters.
Unlike the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections, which saw a high turnout of the electorate from 8am, the enthusiasm is absent today.
Some polling units monitored in Osogbo, Ede Moro, Yakoyo and Ile-Ife towns of the state by The Point correspondent recorded scanty number of electorate.
The number of voters observed at various polling units in the state was fewer compared to that of the presidential and National Assembly elections.
A few polling units visited by The Point at about 12noon had no voter as some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission were dosing off owing to idleness while awaiting the official time for voting to end.
There is presence of policemen, soldiers and other security operatives.
Meanwhile, some politicians have lamented the low turnout of voters and advanced divergent reasons for it.
For the Deputy Governor of Osun State, Kola Adewusi, said the low turnout is largely witnessed in most ballot points in Ile-Ife.
In an interview with The Point after casting his vote at Ward 2, polling unit 1, Ilode, Enuwa Square, Ife Central Local Government Area of the state, Adewusi attributed the low turn out to misinformation, saying a message had given viral among residents that election would commence at 12noon.
Also speaking during an interview, a former member of the Nigerian Senate and Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters, Babajide Omoworare, said there is poor turn out of voters.
Omoworare said the low turnout was due to the fact that the state is not having governorship election today.
He also said that people don’t see the importance of voting State House of Assembly members because they feel the dividends of democracy are not being felt from state parliamentarians.
The low turnout of voters may also be attributed to the political tension in the state coupled with the rise in cases of politically motivated killings and attacks in some parts of the state.
Some have said another reason for the voter apathy was because of some reported issues of malpractice during the last elections.
