Residents in Kaduna State, yesterday, attributed low turnout of voters in the ongoing general elections to cash crunch, occasioned by the new naira policy.
Some of the residents, who spoke with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said they were anxious to travel, to enable them exercise their franchise. They, however, added that they were constrained, as they couldn’t get enough cash to travel.
Faisal Adamu, 28, a tricyclist, said he had been a regular voter since attaining voting age, but lost interest in the ongoing polls.
He said agents of politicians who met him earlier to solicit his vote, took his account number but he never saw a credit alert, even after the poll.
“These politicians are not trustworthy. That was why I did not waste my time to the polling unit, because in previous years they gave us cash and we voted their candidates.”
Muhydeen Muhammad, an online journalist, said on account of what he witnessed, President Muhammadu Buhari’s policy on the naira made good impact on the election.
“In spite of low turnout of voters, which might have been largely due to lack of cash, the ones who voted would make Nigeria to be seen as great in the eyes of the world and also demystify history.
“Those who voted did so on the backdrop of perceived competence and credibility of their candidates; rather than the influence of others (vote buyers), which availability of cash would have aided,” he said.
Jemimah Nuhu, an agro allied business woman, said she couldn’t travel to her home town in Kachia Council of Kaduna to cast her vote due to cash shortage.
She, however, said previous elections at her polling units in Kachia featured vote buying. According to her, she benefitted from the cash but voted her choice candidate.
“If I had gone, this year, I’m sure, with the cash shortage, vote buyers would have been confused and disappointed,” she said.
Another voter, Victor Azubuike, said the cash policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria dis-enfranchised several Nigerians who would have loved to travel to their preferred locations to cast their votes.
He, however, said the policy ensured, to a very reasonable extent, that those who came out to vote did so without monetary influence.
