•Police arrest youths for burning voting materials 

Laleye Dipo in Minna

Niger State Governor, Umaru Bago, has urged Nigerians to continue to actively participate in the electoral process because democracy has come to stay in the country.

This is just as the police in Minna, the state capital, have confirmed the arrest of some youths in connection with the burning of election materials in Nasko, Magama Local Government Area (LGA).

The governor said this shortly after he voted at his Tswashagi Raba polling unit in Landzun ward in Bida yesterday during the local government elections in the state.

“We give thanks to the President, Bola Tinubu, for insisting that sub-nationals obey the constitution and conduct credible elections across all the Local Government Areas in the country.

“Niger today is having its own Local Government Council elections, and everybody is out here to cast their votes. This is the experience that is going to show the acceptance of democracy in the country.

“The turnout is unprecedented; even at the general elections, we don’t have this number. It simply demonstrates the faith Nigerians have in the system,” he said.

Also, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Bida Local Government Area, Hon. Muhammed Usman-Manko, expressed delight with the turnout of voters.

“I can’t believe this massive turnout of voters in this community, irrespective of the harsh weather conditions.

“We are also very grateful to the almighty Allah for a peaceful exercise. I also heartily appreciate the farmer governor, Muhammad Bago, for his continuous support. I also appreciate the entire community for this wonderful show of support.

“I am not surprised by the impressive turnout. It shows what the governor is doing for them in terms of infrastructure and human capital development,” he said.

Meanwhile, police in Minna, the state capital, have confirmed the arrest of some youths in connection with the burning of election materials in Nasko, Magama LGA.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, who gave the confirmation, however, said the state police command was yet to receive the actual number of arrests because of communication problems with the local government.

“Yes, I can confirm there was a problem in Magama Local Government. Some arrests were made, but up till now, we cannot confirm the number of people involved.”
However, reports from the area indicated that voting went on smoothly in most wards after the skirmishes.

The Special Adviser on Political and Strategy to the governor, Alhaji Mohammed Nma Kolo, while commenting on the conduct of the elections, said: “So far so good” before commending the NSIEC “for doing a nice job, I voted within five minutes, there was no delay”.

Kolo praised the members of the Inter-Party Advisory Council  (IPAC) for their peaceful conduct throughout the election.

Though Kolo said the election will be “a win-win situation for everyone,” he was, however, optimistic that the APC will emerge victorious at the end of the day.

A similar incident occurred in Mokwa LGA, while in Suleja, there were reports that security operatives thwarted an attempt by some thugs to snatch ballot boxes in Gauraka ward, resulting in confusion, which was later controlled for voting to continue.

 Ten political parties were participating in the election, which would culminate in the election of 25 local government chairmen and 274 councillors.

The results were expected last night.

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