Residents of Kubwa flock to polling stations early, raising hopes.

In Kubwa, an Abuja satellite town, voters flocked to their voting stations early on Saturday in anticipation of the presidential and national assembly elections.

Many voters had congregated at the voting places before Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials arrived, and there were few security personnel there.

Hundreds of voters were there at the polling location on Queen Amina Street, Phase II, site II (2:2), PW and Police Estate as of 7:30 a.m.

Although asking Nigerians to act peacefully, some voters who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) expressed optimism in the voting process.

One voter, Lateef Taiwo, advised coming early because the polling places are sometimes busy.

While pleading with the election officials to make sure that the process is fair and credible, he asked voters to keep peace.

Kingsley Okoro, another voter, urged Nigerians to cast the proper vote in the interest of the nation while also calling for a peaceful process.

Another voter, Japhet Opara, believes that taking part in the electoral process and ensuring its legitimacy are civic obligations.

“Even though I think there won’t be any violence during this election, I advise the electorates to be calm.

When compared to other elections, “the process as launched by INEC appears uncomplicated,” he remarked.

Another voter in Kubwa, Mrs. Amaka Agbalize, stated that the election is well-run.

“I chose number just now, which is 250. I have faith that my vote will be counted.

So that things might proceed smoothly, she continued, “I asked the electorate to coordinate themselves and obey the security people.

Despite the restrictions on movement that come with elections, NAN noted that there is unfettered vehicle movement within Kubwa.

According to INEC, there are 93,469,008 eligible voters in total on its voter register after the final cleanup, which removes duplicate registrations and registrants under the age of 18, according to NAN. According to the Commission, there are 1,570,307 registered voters in the FCT.

According to the commission, this number was determined after scrutinizing 54,264 complaints made by Nigerians when the voter registration was first made available on its website in November 2022.

The overall number of eligible voters increased by 9,464,924 or 11.3% from the 84,004,084 registered in the general elections of 2019 to 93,469,008 eligible voters in 2023, according to INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu.

According to Yakubu, male voters make up 49,054,162 or 52.5 percent of the electorate, while female voters make up 44,414,846 or 47.5 percent.

In addition, he stated that 33,413,591 or 35.75 percent of voters are middle-aged people between the ages of 35 and 49, making up the remaining 37,060,399 or 39.65 percent of votes.

The INEC chairman further stated that aged voters between the ages of 50 and 69 make up 17,700,270 or 18.94% of the total number of registered voters, with seniors over the age of 70 making up the remaining 5,294,748 or 5.66%.

In terms of occupational distribution, he added, students make up the largest group with 26,027,481 or 27.8% of all registered voters.

The final list includes Omoyele Sowore, Atiku Abubakar, Bola Tinubu, Peter Obi, and Rabiu Kwankwaso, the presidential candidates for the African Action Congress (AAC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party, and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

The list also includes Dumebi Kachikwu, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and his running mate, Ahmed Mani. Daberechukwu Nwanyanwu, the presidential candidate of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Ramalan Abubakar are their running mates.

Other candidates are Bashir Machina, who would succeed Senate President Ahmad Lawan in the National Assembly, Senator Godswill Akpabio from Akwa Ibom State, Senator Peter Nwaobishi from Delta State, and others.

Section 32(1) of the Electoral Act of 2022 and item 8 of the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Elections both require the release of the final list of candidates for national elections (presidential, senatorial, and federal constituencies). (NAN)