Election Update: Elderly Voters Share Experiences

An 80-year-old man, who preferred to be identified simply as ‘Baba’, arrived at his polling unit in the Nyanya area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) looking tired, his eyes bloodshot, his shoulders slumped.

Development Diaries reports that he was there to vote in Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

Three presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not immediately notice the elderly’s arrival at the polling unit – 005 (Angwa Hausawa) – where accreditation and voting were ongoing.

But our reporters saw him as he arrived and attempted to join a growing queue of over 100 voters who were full of enthusiasm.

The youths in the queue, who were impressively coordinated, called the attention of the three INEC officials to the senior citizen.

An operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) heard the call and acted swiftly, on behalf of the electoral officials.

‘Oh, Baba, please follow me’, the NSCDC personnel said as he walked with him to the mouth of the queue to meet the INEC officials for a prompt response.

After voting for the candidates of his choice, Baba had a big grin on his face. The joy was priceless.

‘I had been to three polling units before this. They kept telling me that my name is not there. I was wondering what had happened to my name because I know my polling unit’, Baba, who lives in the neighborhood, told Development Diaries in Hausa.

He continued, ‘Nobody can kill my love for Nigeria, I love this country’.

As for 72-year-old Comfort Madu, she seemed unperturbed by the late arrival of INEC officials to the polling unit 020, Delim/FCT Ward, Apo Resettlement.

‘I came here to vote for a president for my nation, Nigeria. My prayer is that God will give us a leader that will lead us aright’, she said.

As of 09.00am, accreditation and voting had yet to begin in her polling unit as well as several others in the ward.

Another voter at the polling unit, Janet Anebi, expressed dissatisfaction with the late arrival of INEC officials.

‘INEC officials always come late to this polling unit and when they come late they do things in a hurry. If they are not here how will they ensure everyone votes before 2:00pm’, she said.

More to come…

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