Adamawa LG Polls Marred by Voter Apathy as Fintiri Absent

The recently conducted Local Government election in Adamawa State was characterized by a significant lack of enthusiasm from voters, with many polling units devoid of both election officials and voters. Notably, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri was not present in the state during the election, which took place on Saturday. Preliminary results indicate that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is leading in 18 out of the 21 local government areas in the state. The state Commissioner for Information, Leader Leneke, attributed the high voter apathy to the perception among rural dwellers that local government elections are typically dominated by the ruling party, thereby seeing no need to participate. He also noted that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) did not campaign as vigorously as the PDP, which could be a factor in the PDP's potential victory. Leneke stated, 'The PDP governorship candidate and the chairmanship candidates were going out every day for campaigns, but the ruling APC was not doing the same. So, if the PDP wins the election today, it is due to its hard work.' He further mentioned that the rain, which started after 1 pm, also affected voter turnout, expressing hope that more people would come out to vote after the rain subsided. The absence of Governor Fintiri during the election was attributed to his attendance at an important event outside the state. A visit to Girei I Ward at around 11 am revealed a lack of election officials and voters in seven polling units. Similarly, in Song Local Government Area, election officials were only seen in three polling units within the township, but there were no voters. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate for Demsa Local Government Area, Mr. Dennis Kakaba, expressed his dissatisfaction with the election, stating that out of the 172 polling units in the council, elections only took place in eight. He claimed, 'There is no local government election in Adamawa State. They wrote the results last week and are pretending that an election has taken place. It is a shame for democracy.' In contrast, the APC Publicity Secretary, Dogo Victor, expressed confidence that his party would emerge victorious once the final results are released by the Adamawa State Independent Electoral Commission.