By Oboh Linus, Lafia
The Secretary to the Nasarawa State Government, Dr Labaran Magaji, has applauded the peaceful process of the Nasarawa North bye-election.
Magaji gave this commendation in an interview with journalists while monitoring the election on Saturday in Akwanga.
He said that Gov Abdullahi Sule had warned party members and stakeholders not to influence the results of the ongoing Senatorial Bye-election in Nasarawa North as the ruling APC is on the verge of winning.
“If you have listened to the Governor, His Excellency, in the build-up to this election, he repeatedly warned that nobody should rig this election. And we will not sit by and watch others rig us out of this election too,” he said.
According to Magaji, APC had gone into the election with several human-centred projects that were enough to campaign for the party to clinch victory.
“Suffice to say that elections are built on two things; firstly, promises as you are going in, secondly, what you have done for the people when you were there, and we were able to tell the people what we have done convincingly.
“We are fully ready in Nasarawa State to return President Bola Tinubu come 2027, APC is also fully ready to win the three Senatorial seats and the five members of the House of Representatives” he added
A top contender for the senatorial seat on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Halilu Envuluanza, popularly known among constituents as DHE, described the voter turnout as encouraging and impressive.
He attributed the turnout of voters to the deep-rooted presence of the ruling party in the region, calling the APC a “standard household name here in Nasarawa.”
Evaluating the performance of the electoral umpire, Envuluanza gave high praise to the commission’s strategic planning.
”I doff my hat for INEC for the process that they have put in place, it has been historic. Materials were distributed yesterday. This morning, they were moved to the unit, which is the polling unit, and there haven’t been any complaints so far. So far, I rate INEC 90%. In Nasarawa State, they are doing extremely well,” he said.
At Polling Unit P018 in Nasarawa Eggon Town, situated within the Alizaga Electoral Ward, the atmosphere was orderly and highly transparent.
Speaking from the venue, APC Chieftain Isiaka Abdullahi lauded the overall conduct of election officials, noting that initial, minor technology glitches were quickly resolved.
”So far, so good. INEC has done well,” Abdullahi said. “All the election officials are all over here. We’re happy, things are in order. Our BVAS is working; before it had a few glitches, and then I was able to successfully cast my vote, and so many other voters around here”, he said.
Abdullahi emphasised that local voters were heavily invested in protecting the integrity of their votes by remaining at the polling stations until the final tally.
”You can see it’s very peaceful. People are happy, people are guarding their votes, ensuring that they elect the person that they want. There’s orderliness, there’s peace, there’s happiness around everybody because they are exercising their civic responsibility.
“We are happy that we are part of the process, which involves the selection of our leaders who will represent us and be able to bring democratic and political dividends to our people,’ he said.
He commended the combined efforts of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies and the press for the peaceful election. (NAN)