As Nigerians come out today to exercise their civic responsibilities in the governorship and house assembly elections across the country, voters’ apathy has marred the exercise in Osun State.
DAILY POST observed that unlike the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly polls in the state, which experienced impressive turn-out of electorate, virtually all the polling booths were scanty when our correspondent visited most of the major towns in the three senatorial districts on Saturday.
Speaking on the level of turn-out of voters, an All Progressives Congress, APC’s chieftain in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, Mr. Jelili Aloba, said many factors, including wrong political orientation, could have responsible for apathy.
According to him, “some of the electorate do not really understand the relevance of today’s exercise, since it is neither presidential nor governorship election, they do not place any premium on the parliamentary poll.
“It is indeed unfortunate, and it is a function of wrong political perception and orientation, the agency saddled with the responsibility of voter education and social orientation should do more in educating voters on every stage of democratic process.”
Also, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Diran Odeyemi, while speaking with newsmen at his home town in Ibokun, in Obokun Local government area of the state decried what he called passive political culture among electorate, saying the turn-out in the house of assembly election was abysmally poor.
He, however, adduced the low turn-out to the fact that governorship election was not holding in the state, having held gubernatorial election earlier in September.
He also condemned the menace of vote trading, adding that such phenomenon would not advance democracy in anyway.
In the same vein, the Chairman of PDP in the state, Hon. Soji Adagunodo, has expressed displeasure over low turn-out of voters across the state, as he commended security agencies and electoral officers for conducting themselves in a very civil manner.
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