Late arrival of election materials mar Kwara LG poll

Election materials arrived late at several polling units in Saturday’s local government poll in Kwara State.

Though the exercise was characterized by late arrival of election materials, residents however came out in large numbers to elect their chairmen and councillors in the 16 LGAs in the state.

Prospective voters came out as early as 8:00 am for accreditation and subsequent voting in polling units across the 193 wards of the state.

In a chat with journalists on the conduct of the election, the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC) Supervising Officer for Danialu Collation and Distribution Centre, Akanbi Ward 3, in Ilọrin South LGA, Basambo Oladimeji said the late arrival of election materials was due to logistics issues.

Basambo blamed the late arrival of election materials on insufficient buses to distribute the items to polling units in some areas of Ilorin, the state capital.

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He expressed confidence that once the materials and officials reached their polling units they will make up for the time lost.

Oladimeji explained that each of the 51 polling units under his control has a total of 250 voters. He assured that all accredited voters would be allowed to vote before the close of voting time.

The supervising officer advised the electorate to observe the rules and regulations guiding the conduct of a peaceful, free, fair and credible election.

In his reaction, former education councillor for Ilorin South LGA, Barrister Adeleye Smith, expressed concern over late arrival of election officials and materials.

He appealed to the electoral umpire to ensure adequate preparation in subsequent elections to remove suspicion from minds of the electorate.

Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and his deputy, Kayode Alabi, cast their votes at their Idigba polling unit 004, Ilorin West LGA and ECWA Primary School, Oro-Ago polling unit 001, Ifelodun LGA, respectively.