Gov. Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara has commended the turnout of the electorate for the local government elections held across the 16 local government areas (LGA) of the state on Saturday, saying that democracy has come to stay.

Mr Abdulrazaq gave the commendation on Saturday in Ilorin after casting his vote at his ancestral home in Idigba polling unit 004 of Adewole Ward, Ilorin West LGA, at about 10:55 a.m.

He described the conduct of the election as peaceful, saying, “from what we can see here, the turnout is very okay; democracy has come to stay”.

The governor further commended the security agents for their conduct and urged them to maintain the spirit.

Similarly, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Ilorin South LGA, Majeed Bolakale-Podo, described the process as peaceful and orderly.

“Everything is going on smoothly. There’s not been any complaints in all the wards in Ilorin South. It has been peaceful and orderly so far,” he said.

Speaking on his programme for the constituents if elected, Mr Podo said that he would follow the footsteps of the governor, who had performed creditably.

In his reaction, the chairman, Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC), Mohammed Baba-Okanla, noted that the delay witnessed in the commencement of the election in some polling booths was due to logistics problems.

He was speaking while monitoring the conduct of the election in some parts of the Ilorin metropolis.

He said: “Some circumstances can cause delay. Some of the vehicles conveying election materials to polling units broke down and we’ve found ways to amend the situation.

“You can see in this area now, normalcy has returned. In some of the places we’ve visited, there was no problem.

“It’s just that there was a late arrival of materials. But as soon as we got there, situations were improved upon.” 

(NAN)