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Massive voters turn out in Abuja amidst security

By Guardian Nigeria
28 March 2015   |   11:32 am
As at 8.00am, the distribution centre in Kubwa Village, on outskirt of the Abuja, there were indications that some of the election materials are yet to be collected by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) posted to the Kubwa area.
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Security Personnel. guardian-newspaper

VOTERS started trooping to their voting centres as early as 7.30 in the morning in Abuja.

As at 8.00am, the distribution centre in Kubwa Village, on outskirt of the Abuja, there were indications that some of the election materials are yet to be collected by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) posted to the Kubwa area.

At 012A polling centre located in Phase 4, Kubwa, the process started at 8.15am, the accreditation process began with allocation of number based on first-come first served.

Addressing the voters on the need to be orderly, the Presiding Officer, Muawiya Aliyu, said priority would be given to elderly, pregnant women and nursing mothers.

He then advised those who do not have their Permanent Voter Card (PVC) to depart the voting area saying, “if you do not have a PVC, please go away because only those who have PVC would be attended to. We will not allow anybody who do have any business here to loiter around.

Muawiy, who is Youth Corps member, explained that accreditation of voters would start at 9am and expected end at 1pm while voting by accredited voters would begin at 1.30pm.

There were about 130 voters on the queue when The Guardian visited the area.

At the Living Water polling unit located in PW Kubwa, accreditation started around 8.43am with about 115 voters already on the queue. Election observers were not sighted at this polling unit but party agents were on ground.

As at 9am when accreditation began in most of the visited polling stations, card readers used for the verification of voters were working and no issue arose from the usage of the readers. Indeed, the deployment of the readers were directly associated with the speed with which voters were accredited in voting centres in Kubwa as well as Gwarimpa.

Meanwhile, security was beefed up around the city with stern-looking security operatives massing strategic entrances into the city.

Even within the city, the security men were at various junctions carrying thorough search on vehicles to ensure that only those that have genuine reason to be on the road have free access.

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