LOW turnout of voters was recorded across polling units in Rivers State during the governorship elections on Saturday, March 18 suggest apathy.
Across many streets in Port Harcourt, several residents were spotted playing ball while voting was ongoing in the state.
In the Okuru area of Port Harcourt, The ICIR spoke to some young men who had organised a football match on the street.
While some claimed not to have registered for the exercise, two others noted that they were uninterested in the election.
“The last elections we participated in, what happened? I am no more interested,” one of the players said.
Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were spotted in some polling units waiting for voters to show up for the exercise.
At Polling Unit 088, JDP roundabout in Elekahia, INEC officials were spotted waiting for voters to arrive the polling unit at about 9:00 am on Saturday.
The ICIR also observed at PU 046, 89 voters were registered, but only four voters were on ground at about 9.15AM.
There were also less than five voters present at PU 073, Ward 19, Elekahia out of 200 registered voters expected at the unit.
A resident Port Harcourt, Richard who spoke to The ICIR after casting his vote spoke on the low voter turnout at his unit.
“We have less than 50 per cent of our last turn out right now,” he said.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.