The Kaduna state government has expressed concern over the low turnout of eligible citizens in the ongoing voter registration exercise.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting on Thursday in Kaduna, the commissioner for Information, Ahmed Maiyaki, said Governor Uba Sani has directed government officials to adopt pragmatic measures to ensure participation of citizens in the exercise. Maiyaki said the meeting was convened to assess existing challenges and design strategies to improve registration figures across the state.
He said that preliminary data from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed that Kaduna and other parts of the northwest are trailing behind in the exercise.
He said the stakeholder engagement included local government chairmen, traditional rulers, religious leaders, and the media.
The commissioner said, “The government is deeply concerned about ensuring stronger citizen engagement in this exercise.
“This is not about partisanship; it is about encouraging all segments of society to participate actively in the democratic process.”
He commended some local government chairmen for launching sensitisation campaigns, adding that the meeting was for experience-sharing and coordinated planning.
Speaking in an interview with journalists after the meeting, the Vice Chairman of the Kaduna state chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon. Dauda Madaki, said the exercise is being approached with the seriousness of a competitive national event.
Madaki said, “On our part as ALGON leadership, we are committed to collaborating closely with the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Youth to ensure the success of this voter registration campaign.
“We are fully aware of the importance of this process, not just for voting but for other government interventions that require updated and accurate data.
“We are calling on INEC and especially the Resident Electoral Commissioner to support us by addressing the current challenges.
“For example, some LGAs like Chikun, Igabi, Zangon Kataf, Sabon Gari, and others with large populations have only two machines allocated for registration. This is clearly insufficient.
“We appeal to INEC to urgently provide more machines—at least 10 per LGA for high-population areas—to ensure that no one is left behind.
“We must also consider areas with limited access to registration centres. Our people are ready and willing to register.”
Kaduna expresses concern over low voter registration, urges INEC to deploy more machines
