Food vendors present at polling units in Maitama Ward of the FCT have decried low patronage by voters at the Presidential and National Assembly elections, due to scarcity of naira notes.
Some of the vendors on Saturday in Abuja said activities at the 2023 general elections seem to be dull because of the scarcity of naira in circulation.
Mrs Sharon Ahmed, a food vendor in Maitama ward said most people at the polling units did not have cash to buy drinks despite the harsh weather.
“Some people here want to buy cold drinks and online transfer is not going through and this is making business slow unlike other years where I make sales.
“I am not happy because I paid the truck that brought my drinks and if I do not sell most of the drinks then I will need to pay to take them back,” Ahmed said.
Similarly, another vendor, Hauwa Suleiman, said business was not going as she expected because some of the people that wanted to buy were complaining of naira scarcity.
“Another thing I notice here is that most people brought in their water, their snacks so they are not even showing interest in buying any food,” Suleiman said.
In another development, there was tension across Mararaba junction polling units 105, 107, 136 and 008 as a teenage boy attempted to steal a cell phone from a voter.
When apprehended by a security operative, the boy brought out a knife and stabbed the operative on the head.
However, armed military men in three armored vehicles were alerted and immediately, the culprit was arrested and taken away.
