TheCable

Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, says there was voter intimidation in some polling areas in the southern part of the state during the governorship and house of assembly elections on Saturday.

The governorship and house of assembly elections are being held across the country today.

Speaking with journalists after casting his vote, El-Rufai said voters in the southern Kaduna areas were being asked to either vote for a particular party or return to their homes.

He said the situation is currently being investigated by security operatives in the state.

The governor said the voting process in some polling units has been smooth, noting that the security situation has also been calm.

“It was seamless, it was smooth, there was no problem, the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) identified me using my biometrics, everything happened seamlessly and this polling unit opened at 8 am and the polling unit next opened about an hour ago,” he said.

“Generally speaking, the process has been smooth across the state except in a few places in southern Kaduna where we got reports of voters intimidation where people are being asked to vote for one party or go back home and the security agencies are still doing an investigation.

“We anticipated some levels of violence but by the grace of God, there have been no reports, and robust security arrangements are put in place in response to that intelligence. And so far so good, I just hope that more people come out, the voter turnout still appears a little low, but we are optimistic.”

Meanwhile, TheCable reported that El-Rufai cast his vote at about 11:45 am at his polling unit 024, Anguwan Sarki GRA, in Kaduna North LGA.

The Kaduna governor is finishing his second term in the office and is supporting the governorship bid of Uba Sani, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The ruling party lost in the presidential and national assembly elections to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).