Fear grips Kaduna residents over tomorrow’s elections

KADUNA — Amid fear of violence and possible imposition of curfew over Kaduna State, residents are now stock- piling food stuff at home, as well as making huge cash withdrawals from banks ahead of Saturday’s poll.

However, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, who is the state’s governorship candidate of the All Progressives, Congress, APC, said at a news conference in Kaduna that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP-led government in the state planned to instigate violence on election day, so that curfew could be imposed, to make manipulation of results in favour of the PDP possible.

Investigations by Vanguard showed that more residents were buying food stuff and meat that could last for several days in anticipation of election violence in the state.

This was even as some youths believed to be APC supporters had been pulling down or vandalising PDP bill boards in the metropolis.

Mallam Aminu Danmanir, Chairman, Meat Sellers Association, at the Kaduna Central Market, who spoke on the issue, said his members have recorded huge increase in sales over the past few days.

Danmanir said:  “It came to us as surprise when people started buying meat in large quantities. It was later that we knew that it was not because of the forthcoming Easter celebrations. Because  even Muslims were buying.

“Before now, I used to sell about 60 kilogrammes of meat in a day. But it the past four days, I have been selling between 90 and 110 kilogrammes daily. We have not increased the price of meat. A kilogramme  of beef is still N900. But, if we keep getting this pressure, the price may go up.”

At Sabo Main Market, Mrs. Agnes Sati, told Vanguard that she had noticed some increase in the sale of her grains.

She said: “There are times in this market that I can hardly sell 10 measures of rice and beans or garri. But, now when people come to buy, they buy in large quantities.

“There was a day I sold three bags of rice, one bag of beans and almost three bags of Ijebu garri. It is the same for palm oil and vegetable oil. People are afraid of  tomorrow.”