Low turn out greets Kaduna LG Elections

Voters on queue to vote at a polling unit in the city centre

Delay in the arrival of voter officials and materials as well as voter apathy adversely affected the just concluded Kaduna Local Government elections.

Cubinks' team of reporters, gathered that within the city centre most polling units did not commence voting until about 1:00pm. Voters who spoke to our Correspondent blamed the poor turn out on poor publicity of the voting process, leaving significant information shrouded in secrecy.

Some of the challenges encountered by voters and officials, according to party agents include delay in activating the electronic voter machines, absence of displayed register for voters.

Fundamentally however, remarked Kalu Ndukwe a Supervisor of one of the parties at Barnawa Clinic polling unit: "the processes is unlike the conventional elections, there is no secrecy in the ballot. Some ignorant voters are even being asked which party they want to vote and could be easily misguided.

"At the Federal Housing polling unit in Barnawa, elections closed with only 111 of the 500 registered voters, voting. What is most worrisome is that the ballot papers counted do not indicate which party the voters have voted for" he said.

Another agent speculated that already some chairmanship candidates have already been given official vehicles and security aides as they are already sure to win the day.

In suburban areas like Kafanchan in Jema'a, elections commenced at about 11:00am as voters defied the down pour to exercise their franchise, unlike Jaba and Kaura local government areas where unconfirmed reports indicate that elections never held for no tangible reason. The conduct of the elections have so far been peaceful and free of rancour but voters called for a rethink of the electronic voting process, which in their opinion leaves much to be desired when compared to the card reader.

All efforts by Cubinks to get the reactions of the Chairperson of the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (KADSIECOM) failed. As at the time of going to press the results of the election were being collated.

Comments

Expert advocates for prudence and and accountability in Treasury Management

By EDDY OCHIGBO L ack of efficient and prudent treasury management in the country have been identified as the source of fraud and sharp practices in nation's public and private sector. Dropping the hint during a breakfast meeting with Correspondents in Kaduna during the week, the Registrar and Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Treasury Management of Nigeria, Mr Adedoyin Olumide, reiterated that poor treasury management remains the bane of public and private finance utilization in the country, calling for greater synergy among all professionals in accounting, banking and finance. He disclosed tha...

Fiscal responsibility: Kaduna State's debt burden and unrealistic budgeting

By YUSUF ISHAKU GOJE T he budget is said to be the second most important document outside the constitution, without which even the constitution cannot fully function. It enables governments to turn campaign promises articulated as policies into concrete public services that seek to improve the overall living standard of the people. That is why it remains the most critical socio-economic policy tool that outlines the government's priorities in financial terms. The extent to which the government's proposed spending sticks to what it has projected as realistic revenue makes a budget credible. Therefore, it also becomes a measurement of government's sincerity and capacity to deliver on campaign promises. More importantly, the credibility of any budget depends on its realism, as you cannot spend what you cannot get. That means for a budget to be realistic it has to be substantially achievable. However, politicians are always under pressure to spend more, most times overshooting ...

NIGERIA: Need for more transparency in Education

Pupils in a class without facilities A seasoned governance and human development expert, Dr Otive Igbuzor has identified lack of monitoring, accountability and transparency in the system, as the major factors militating against the progress of the nation's waning education sector and called for a holistic and well-thought-out approach to reverse the trend. Igbuzor who made this known at a one-day parley with Correspondents and Media Executives in Kaduna Nigeria, spoke extensively on the root causes of corruption, the need for probity in the education sector, budget analysis as well as education as key to human development. The one-day sensitization program put together by Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women (LANW/LEADS) alongside Mac Arthur Foundation, harped on 'enhancing reportage on Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) projects in the state as well as Public Procurement Process in the sector' to strengthen accountability and transparency in the...

Anniversary Feature: A Toast for Nigeria @ 59

By Yusuf Goje T he fundamental difference between dictatorship and a liberal democracy is the existence of the legislative arm in the latter. The legislative arm empowers the people via direct representation of their elected legislators to amplify and reflect their voices (needs) in decision-making process; such as in law-making, appropriation and other national or state issues. It is envisaged that the legislative arm either at the Federal or State level should be the closest link between the people and government. As the legislators are expected to regularly consult their constituents on legislative issues to be tabled and provide feedback on the resolutions reached at the Assembly. In view of the foregoing, Nigeria which practice a Federating system with the States as component units has seen section 90 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria establish the House of Assembly of a State; while section 100 provides for the mode of ex...

PERL trains Planning Officers, Citizens on Accountability, Service Delivery

As Stakeholders review 2022 Local Government Draft Budget Cross-section of participants at the engagement during a session By EDDY OCHIGBO, Kaduna I n its sustained drive to enhance accountability and seamless service delivery at the local government level in Kaduna state, Partnership to Engage and Learn in collaboration with Local Government Accountability Mechanism (LGAM), on Monday October 25, 2021, organized a two-day technical session to increase the capacity and technical expertise of citizen groups and planning officers in the state. To this end, the Local Government Accountability Mechanism (LGAM), a collaborative initiative of the Ministry for Local Government Affairs, Civil Society partners and Partnership to Engage, Reform & Learn (PERL/FCDO), working as technical working groups to strengthen governance at the grassroots, have reviewed the Kaduna state 2022 budget with trend analysis, observations and recommendations. The review of the ₦1,134,051...

Cubinks NEWS

Search This Blog