Kogi Polls: Accreditation Ends, Voting Begins

Voting has commenced in the ongoing Kogi State governorship election following accreditation of voters which ended a while ago.

Channels Television’s correspondents covering the elections said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials and materials arrived at most polling units at a little after 7:00am while voters began the accreditation exercise as early as 8:30am.

All accredited voters will get the opportunity to choose from the 22 candidates cleared by INEC to contest in the election.

There is heavy security presence in the state with the Police leading with 15,000 men on ground.

INEC has also assured residents of a hitch-free and credible poll.

Turnout of voters is said to be impressive in quite a number of polling centres in the state while card readers reportedly malfunctioned in some polling units.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Solomon Arase, however, appealed to the general public, especially travellers plying through Kogi State, that the partial restriction of vehicular movement between 06:00hrs to 18:00hrs on election day was informed by the exigencies of overriding security considerations and to forestall tactics by miscreants to undermine the electoral process.

Twenty-two candidates will be contesting on the platform of their different registered political parties.

Some of the top contenders in the Kogi governorship race include the incumbent and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Captain Idris Wada, who will be in a tough race with a former Governor and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abubakar Audu.

Philips Salawu, a former Deputy Governor to the immediate past Governor of the state, Ibrahim Idris, is the candidate of the Labour Party.

Over 1.3 million voters are expected to participate in the exercise.