Senator representing Kwara Central       Senatorial District, Senator Bukola Saraki, has commended the peaceful conduct of the 2015 presidential election exercise.

Speaking shortly after being accredited at his Ajikobi ward in Ilorin, the state capital, Senator Saraki said that the peaceful conduct of the exercise was a clear indication that the electorate were yearning for change.

He noted that the challenges encountered in the use of card readers would be overcome by INEC, assuring that the peaceful conduct of the electorate was an indication that the process would be better than the previous elections.

He noted that areas where PVC malfunctioning were recorded had already been addressed.

In Ile-Magaji Baboko polling unit ward in Ilorin West local government area, a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, expressed delight that the exercise was successful.

He assured that the APC presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, would win the elections.

Also, an accredited domestic observer, Mr Mobolaji Ojibara (SAN), who is also the NBA chairman in the state, said the ongoing accreditation exercise in IIorin had been perfect.

“The accreditation exercise has so far recorded a violence-free and peaceful atmosphere in ilorin,” he said.

According to him, the malfunctioning of card readers in some polling units had been the only challenges in the completion of the exercise.

He assured the electorate of better and improved service of card readers shortly.

Meanwhile, enthusiastic voters in most parts of Ilorin, the Kwara state capital and other parts of the state besieged polling booths in large number as early as 6:30 am on Saturday to exercise their franchise on presidential elections.

The electorate, who included old and young people, expressed determination to be part of the process to elect candidates of their choice.

Meanwhile, the Minister of National Planning, Dr Abubakar Sulaiman, has disagreed with Senator  Saraki and other APC chieftains on the effectiveness of the card readers, following reports of malfunctioning of the machine.

While the minister said the PDP was not surprised as it had spoken against the card being used for the general election, Saraki, and other APC chieftains like Alhaji Kawu Baraje, speaker Kwara state House of Assembly, Razak Atunwa, had said the card reader innovation was a success. Baraje and Saraki said they were accredited within seconds.

Meanwhile, elderly voters in many parts of Kwara State had challenges with the finger print identification.

It was gathered that voters aged between 80 and 90 years had problems with the PVC identifying their finger prints.

The INEC officials on ground however decided to make do with the identification name and number after several attempts to wash and clean their hands.

Some of the areas where the challenges were experienced include Omu Aran, Agbamu, Oro, Babanloma, Share, Ilorin West, South and East among other places in the state.

SAn observer for Ilorin west, Mr Alawiye Teki, noted that the system was slow but pointed out that the exercise was peaceful.

As at around 11.am, many of the voters at a polling unit in the community were yet to be accredited because of non-functioning of the card reader making the people to feel disappointed.

Speaking with journalists, the presidential adviser on legislative matters, Alhaji Sulaiman Ajadi, said that the hitches had been reported to the electoral officer in charge and expressed hope that they would replace the machine at the right time.

The voters, while trooping out massively, also conducted themselves peacefully and in an orderly manner while undergoing the accreditation exercise.