Gombe by-election: Residents hail peaceful exercise, INEC decries low turnout

Some residents of Gombe metropolis have expressed satisfaction with the peaceful conduct of the ongoing Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency by-election.

The voters also commended the Independent National Electoral Commission for making adequate arrangements to ensure a credible and hitch-free exercise.

A cross-section of the voters said this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria in Gombe on Saturday.

Buhari Ibrahim, a voter, said the professionalism displayed by election and security officials contributed to the peaceful conduct of the exercise.

Ibrahim, a person living with disability, described the process as “seamless and peaceful”.

He said he did not feel discriminated against at any point as a physically challenged person during the voting process.

Similarly, Dalhatu Boderi described the process as hitch-free and successful.

“The atmosphere is peaceful, the turnout in this polling unit is impressive and everything is going on well as expected,” Boderi said.

He commended youths for conducting themselves peacefully and expressed optimism that the 2027 general elections would be peaceful and successful.

Maryam Salisu, a voter at the Yakub Hassan Polling Unit, said she was encouraged to come out because of the peaceful conduct of the exercise.

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She commended INEC and security agents, urging them to replicate the feat in the 2027 general elections to encourage more female voters to exercise their franchise.

Another voter, Zaliha Garba, also lauded the process, saying women were no longer taking the back seat in exercising their franchise.

“We realised that women are critical stakeholders in determining who rules us, so we are now embracing the process,” she said.

However, Rear Admiral Jamila Mailafa (retd.), INEC National Commissioner in charge of the North-East, decried the low voter turnout observed during the exercise.

“I am here to observe the election going on in Bauchi and Gombe States.

“The election process is seamless, the environment is peaceful, people are out in some places but from my observation, there is a low turnout of voters.

“Voting starts at 8.30 am, but voters were just few in most of the polling units I visited.

“Here I can see a lot of voters, probably they are just coming out. I think they are just taking their time. Both the electoral officers and BVAS machines are working as expected,” she said.