At the Arab Road Water Board Junction Settlement Polling Unit in Kubwa, Bwari, Abuja, party agents clashed during the voting process on Saturday afternoon, as thousands of voters crowded the unit. Observations revealed that many voters were not placing their fingers correctly while thumbprinting on the ballot papers, which could potentially invalidate their votes. In response, some party agents began educating voters on the proper technique for thumbprinting as they approached the voting cubicles. However, this initiative was met with opposition from other agents who believed it constituted an inappropriate interference in the voting process, leading to a minor fracas among the agents.
To resolve the escalating tensions, police officers present at the polling unit intervened, resulting in verbal confrontations between the conflicting groups. The situation was ultimately brought under control by the security officials, who instructed the agents to maintain a respectful distance from the voting cubicles. Following this intervention, the party agents resumed their efforts to educate the large number of voters on how to correctly place their fingers on the ballot papers to avoid casting invalid votes.
Meanwhile, voting activities across various polling units in Kubwa, Dutse, and Bwari, which are densely populated suburbs of Abuja, proceeded peacefully and in an organized manner. Thousands of voters turned out to exercise their franchise, with special attention given to the elderly, pregnant women, and nursing mothers, who were prioritized and allowed to use the BVAS system to confirm their serial numbers on the voter register before casting their votes.
At the Sagwari Primary School in Dutse Alhaji, Bwari, for instance, voting proceeded smoothly across four polling units—003, 046, 047, and 048—each accommodating thousands of voters. However, many voters expressed concern that the voting time should be extended beyond the scheduled closing time of 4 PM, as they feared that not everyone would have the opportunity to cast their vote by then. Voter Ademola Adebiyi remarked, “You can see the crowd here, and you’ll agree that it is not possible for everyone here to have cast their vote by 4 PM today.” Another voter, Chnenye Obasi, echoed this sentiment, stating, “They just have to extend the voting time; otherwise, they’ll end up disenfranchising thousands of voters today because there is no way most of us here would have voted on or before 4 PM.”
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