2023 elections: Insecurity may discourage voter turnout – Zamfara lawmaker, Zurmi

The only Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, member in the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Hon. Salisu Zurmi has expressed fear that the 2023 general elections in some villages within the Dansadau axis in the Maru Local Government Area of the state may not hold due to security challenges.

The lawmaker disclosed this during an exclusive interview with the media in Gusau, the state capital, pointing out that many communities in the axis have been displaced by the ravaging terrorists operating in the state.

“There is no point deceiving ourselves that peace has been restored in the state; it is just empty propaganda that can be thrown into another wastepaper basket”, he lamented.

“Interact with some villagers in Dansadau, Zurmi, Birinin Magaji and many Zamfara communities, you will discover that banditry has not gone down, and many people have relocated from their communities as a result of insecurity.

“I am from Zurmi Local Government Area, and I know what I am talking about. The way one sees it in the electronic and print media is not how it appears.”

Reacting to the claim by INEC in the state that the commission would make provision for displaced persons to vote, Zurmi frowns at the claim, saying that even the president, who is in charge of security in the country, had on several occasions assured of security but nothing has changed.

According to him, it is a statement of fact that the bandits are still raging unabated in the state, stressing that the voter turnout during the forthcoming presidential election may not be impressive if the security situation is not addressed before then.

Zurmi noted that the current scarcity of Naira notes, fuel scarcity and teething economic challenges are some of the negative factors that may bring about low voter turnout.