- An eyewitness account
In the later hours of 22nd April, the electioneering process of the department of SCIENCE EDUCATION, Faculty of Education was halted after several minutes of discord.
This ensued after a great number of students came in to cast their votes before the agreed time by the electoral body, ISEC(Independent SESA Electoral Commission) and the contestants’ agent.
The fuss began when the large crowd is believed to be of the opposition.
According to the electoral body, the electioneering process was to be halted by 6:30pm. The large crowd of about fifty, came in, right before 6:30pm to cast their votes; about 70% were disallowed from voting; some who were successfully screened to vote couldn’t carry out the process till the closure of the time by the electoral body, due to the fuss believed to have been caused by the other opposition.
However, the fuss continued till after 6:30pm, until the Chairman of the electoral body declared the electoral process discontinued, due to the brouhaha, thereby, denying electorates from casting their votes.
The fuss, however, continued till the staff adviser, Dr Murtala intervened to calm the uproar to resume the collating of the votes.
Furthermore, while investigating the electioneering, 720 ballots paper were counted before the contestants’ agent before the electoral process, 366 ballots were used, unused ballots were counted to be 360, the source of the additional 6 ballots remain unknown.
This became a major issue when a presidential candidate, Mr Abdulsalam Omore was declared the winner against Mr Muktar Olamide Usman, when the votes were counted to be 173 against 170, with 23 voids. This raised the suspicion of the source of the foreign 6 ballots.
The opposition, however, declared the electoral process not free and fair, primarily, by denying the electorates from casting their votes before the stipulated closure for the electioneering and the suspected increase in the number of ballots used.
