One feared dead in Niger State council polls

BREAKING NEWS — Local government elections were held in Niger State, Saturday with poor turn out recorded just as one person was reportedly shot dead while two other people were   seriously wounded  in Kontagora,  headquarters of  Kontagora local government area of the state.

The election took place in 24 of the 25  local government areas with Kontagora left out due to the crisis that engulfed the town a day before the elections.

Our correspondent gathered that on Friday night, crisis broke out between supporters of two leading political parties during the distribution of election materials in the town.

Due to the crisis, the state Independent National Electoral Commission had to postpone the elections. However, election took place in other local government areas of the state but with very poor turn out on the part of the electorate.

Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu and former head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, after casting their votes, decried   the poor turn out and attributed it to lack of sensitization on the part of  politicians on the importance of the local government election.

Abubakar, who drove himself in a black colored Mercedes Benz car{ S500 class series} marked Niger: Tripple A1, in  the company of his wife, Hon. Justice Fati Abubakar, for accreditation, at the Uphill Water Tank Polling Unit 020, at Sabon/Gari  ward 009, in  Chanchaga Local Government area of the state at about 10:38am, said with democracy striving in the country, the electorate should have been more enlightened on the importance of local government election which he said is much more important than any other election.

On the crisis in Kontagora, the deputy commissioner of police in the state, Alhaji Mohammed Sule, confirmed the development, adding that police was on top of the situation.

-Nigeria Local Trend, Niger.

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By Wole Mosadomi 

Source: Vanguard