OFF-CYCLE governorship elections are underway in Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa states today, and voters turnout has been impressive.
In some polling units monitored by The ICIR, election officials and materials arrived early, and accreditation of voters commenced as early as 8:20 a.m. Voting also commenced in some other locations at 8:30 am.
The ICIR reports that the election process has been relatively peaceful so far in the three states.
Some presiding officers offered a brief sensitization to party agents on how to conduct themselves before the commencement of voting, and priority voting was given to the elderly, persons with disabilities, and pregnant women in most polling units observed.
In the Inorere polling unit, Farm Centre ward, Adavi local government area in Kogi state, The ICIR observed that women were more in the queue than men.
Also, in Nworieubi polling unit 034 in Mbaitoli LGA, INEC officials confirmed that the election started at 8:30 am. The ICIR also observed voters searching for their names.
Meanwhile, some voters lamented the nonavailability of INEC electoral officers at the largest voting centre in Adavi local government area.
In Owerri, electoral materials were deployed early from the local government councils to polling units in the LGA monitored in Imo State.
At Owerri Municipal local government area, sensitive materials left the council at about 7.24 am to various polling units.
However, some voters were seen checking their names on the list pasted on the wall at the council.
Also, in Bayelsa, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Douye Diri has cast his vote in his polling unit.
Before the elections, the Nigerian Police had instructed its officers to ensure the safety of the electorate, INEC officers, and electoral materials, given alleged plans by some groups to disrupt the polls in the three states where the off-cycle governorship elections are held today.
The ICIRreported the top candidates competing for the governorship seats in the three states.
The ICIR, using data in this report, highlighted parties’ chances in the states.
YIAGA Africa, a civil society organisation committed to promoting democratic governance in Africa, has raised the alarm over allegations of forged results in the ongoing governorship poll in Kogi State.
The organisation is one of the accredited election observer groups in the off-cycle elections holding in Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa states today, November 11.
It expressed a deep concern over the integrity of the electoral process and the potential implications of any malpractices on democracy in the state.
Yiaga Africa raised the alarm on Saturday, November 11, via its X handle, stating that it received a report of a pre-filled results sheet discovered in PU 004, Eni ward of Ogori/Magongo in Kogi state before the commencement of voting.
The organisation called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ‘urgently’ investigate the allegations.
“Dear@inecnigeria, we received a report of pre-filled results sheet discovered in PU 004, Eni ward of Ogori/Magongo in Kogi state before the commencement of voting. Kindly investigate and address this issue promptly to safeguard the integrity of the process.
There is “another case of pre-filled results sheets in PU 020, Eika/Ohizenyi, Okehi LGA of Kogi state,” it added.
Meanwhile, INEC has reacted to the post via its X handle.
It wrote, “Our attention has been drawn to a report that filled result sheets were discovered in some polling units in Kogi State. The Commission views this situation seriously.
“Our senior officials deployed to the state are currently investigating the incident(s). The commission will communicate its decision earnestly.”
The ICIR had earlier reported that the governorship election in Kogi had been peaceful in some local government areas monitored by the organisation until the claims of pre-filled results sheet emerged.
According to INEC, there are 3,508 polling units across the 21 local governments in the state. The total number of registered voters is 1.93 million out of which 1.83 million collected their permanent voter card (PVC).
This represents 94.85 per cent of PVCs collected. While the number of uncollected PVCs is 99,494, representing 5.15 per cent.
Also, 18 candidates would contest for the gubernatorial seat, of which 17 candidates are male and one female candidate.
The INEC also said that 137,973 political party agents would participate in monitoring the polls.
FORMER President Goodluck Jonathan has called for an end to off-cycle elections in Nigeria.
He made the call on Saturday, November 11,after casting his vote at polling unit 39, ward 13 in Otuoke, Ogbia local government area of the state.
The former President was at the polling unit with his wife, Patience.
Addressing newsmen, Jonathan said the off-season elections are held due to litigations and court judgments.
He urged the National Assembly to harmonise all state and national elections in the country.
According to him, “With the way things are going in Nigeria, the presidential election might become off-season”.
He further appealed to the National Assembly to ensure the nation’s elections enjoy global best practices.
“I get worried by the issue of off-season elections, and I use this opportunity to plead with the National Assembly that we need to block these off-season elections. It is very odd; it is not a global best practice.
“If we continue with this trend of off-season elections based on the interpretation of our laws by the judicial officers, it will come to a time when the presidential election will be off-season. Look at the American system; everybody knows when the American election will be conducted,” he said.
The ICIR reports that the Bayelsa governorship poll is one of the three off-cycle elections currently going on in the country.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 16 candidates are vying for the governorship seat in Bayelsa, including the incumbent Douye Diri who seeks re-election.
THE Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate Murtala Ajaka has cast his vote in his local government, Igalamela, Kogi state.
He said that the original result sheets for the election were missing in Okenne, Okehi and Adavi local government areas and urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to question the people involved.
“The original result sheets in Okene, Okehi, and Adavi local governments are missing. And they are busy arranging the result sheets now. The returning officers in those areas should be questioned,” he stated after casting his vote.
Ajaka is one of the 18 candidates cleared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to vie for the governorship seat in today’s off-cycle election.
Other leading candidates are Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ododo Usman Ahmed of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Leke Abejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The election in Kogi is one of the three off-cycle governorship polls held today.
Other states having elections are Bayelsa and Imo.
The tenure of the current governor of Imo state expires on January 14, 2024, while the governors of Kogi and Bayelsa states expire on January 26, 2024, and February 13 of the same year.
The ICIRreportedKogi State Governor Yahaya Bello boasting after casting his vote in his hometown of Okenne that his party’s candidate, Ododo, would win the election.
THE Kogi state Governor Yahaya Bello has boasted that his party’s candidate Usman Ododo, would win at the governorship election poll held today, November 11, in the state.
The governor, who has spent two terms as governor of the North Central state, said he was certain of victory because of the work he had done in the state.
He stated this after casting his vote at the Open Space polling unit, Asubo Ward, Okene, Kogi Central.
Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello addressing the media after casting his vote in Okene, Kogi Central on Saturday, November 11.
“The most free, fair, credible, and violence-free election. So, the issue of violence in our election in Kogi state is a media creation.
“It is a figment of the imagination of all those who do not want good things for Kogi state. There is nothing like violence,” Bello said while responding to a question on fear of violence during the poll.
BAYELSA State Governor Douye Diri has blamed the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the state governorship election, Timipre Sylva, for violence in the Nembe/Bassambri Local Government Area.
He also alleged that members and agents of his party – the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) – were denied access to the area while casting his vote on Saturday, November 11.
“Our agents have been stopped from going into Nembe. Our party has written an official letter to the Chairman of INEC, and INEC has to take drastic action to ensure that our people are allowed to go in there and vote,” he said.
He added: “We have been raising the issue of the violent character and person of Timipre Silva. Over the years, every election he is involved in, you experience violence. You experience lawlessness. Even in Nembe Bassambri, the name and the character behind what is happening is Timipre Silva. Timipre Silva has been a violent person in every election.
“You will recall also that his deputy governorship candidate in Twon Brass threatened the people of Twon Brass that if any of our party members come, they should be thrown into the Atlantic Ocean and that they are not the first people to die. You will agree that that pair is a violent pair, and that’s not what the people of Bayelsa deserve,” he said.
He called for special attention in Nembe Bassambri, urging INEC to ensure accreditation and use the Bimodal Voter Accreditation (BVA).
The governor, however, expressed satisfaction with the election process so far at the Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA.
Diri described the process as seamless while commending the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after he cast his vote at the polling unit 004, Sampou/Kalama ward.
“I think this is an improvement on all the other elections I have participated in. Very seamless, very fast, and if it continues like this, then I want to believe that INEC is improving on not only the facilities, the training of the personnel handling the process,” he said.
CIVIL society organisations, Tap Initiative, and Media Rights Agenda (MRA) have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make a strong commitment to conducting elections that are free, fair, and credible at the off-cycle governorship elections slated for Saturday, November 11, in Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo states.
In a statement released on Thursday, November 9, the executive director of Tap Initiative, Mbaseki Obono, demanded that the result sheets from every nook and cranny of local government areas (LGAs) bear the signature of the INEC Chairman, countersigned by electoral officers from each LGA and overseen by the resident electoral commissioners.
He urged INEC to collaborate with security agencies to implement security measures that prevent violence and intimidation, thereby strengthening citizens’ right to vote without fear.
Obono further advised INEC to launch an investigation into the allegations against the current resident electoral commissioner in Imo State, Sylvia Agu, a professor, which he said cast shadows on impartiality in the state election.
“We invoke INEC’s sacred duty to launch a comprehensive investigation into these allegations. If substantiated, we implore INEC to consider the withdrawal of the current resident electoral commissioner, a necessary step to restore the integrity of the electoral process,” he stated.
He expressed optimism that the elections would mark a turning point in restoring public trust in the electoral system.
Obono also encouraged other civil society groups to urge INEC to address other critical issues on the electoral system and make the commission uphold the principles of electoral integrity and credibility during the off-cycle elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states.
Similarly, on Friday, November 10, the Media Rights Agency, in a statement it issued in Lagos state, called on the federal and state governments, law enforcement, and security agencies to take adequate measures to protect journalists and other media workers during the off-cycle elections.
It said the role of media workers in providing information about the electoral process was critical to ensuring free, fair, and transparent elections.
The MRA also urged journalists to be safety conscious and to utilise the existing hotlines in reporting any threat or attack that they might experience throughout the process.
It said its existing hotline, established ahead of the 2023 general elections, in February and March, was available to journalists who might face challenges, including harassment, intimidation, or violence while carrying out their professional duties.
According to the organisation, the hotline is available to journalists and other media workers seeking assistance through regular calls, WhatsApp calls, or texting and can be utilised by those who are under threat, attacked, or harmed in the course or due to their work as media professionals.
The MRA said if the concerned people use the hotline to report any issue, it would be able to document them and render a range of support services.
“Given the pattern of heightened attacks on journalists and the media during previous elections, including the recent 2023 general elections, as well as the tense political climate in the three states in the lead-up to the elections, it is imperative that measures are taken to ensure general security during the elections and provide adequate protection for journalists covering the elections.”
THERE is a massive voter turnout at the largest voting centre in Adavi Local Government Area (LGA) of Kogi state as the state elects a new governor today, Saturday, November 11.
Hundreds of voters trooped out early at the Adavi Local Government Area Primary School as early as 7.30 am to vote.
Women in queue at Adavi LGA primary school, #KogiDevides2023
The centre has seven polling units (PU), all based in the LGA primary school.
The PUs consist of polling units 1 and 2, Inorere Ward, PU 1 and 2 Nagazi ward, and PU 1, 2 and 3, Logaminna, all in Adavi LGA, Kogi Central.
According to the voters, the centre is the largest voting centre in the town.
Some of the voters expressed optimism that the election would go well and be rancour-free while speaking with The ICIR.
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials were seen setting up their booths at some polling units and absent at some.
There were more women in the queue than men, with some of them strapping their babies on their backs.
INEC is holding the governorship election in Kogi today to usher in a new government at the end of the current governor’s tenure, Yahaya Bello.
RESIDENTS of the Bayelsa state capital, Yenegoa, have expressed readiness to vote despite fears of possible violence in the state off-cycle governorship election scheduled for Saturday, November 11.
While some bank on the heavy security presence in the state, others rely on their wits to avoid possible crises.
“This peace accord they’re talking about, I don’t believe it. I know tomorrow, there might be violence. But that won’t stop me, and I will come out. I won’t make it obvious who I am voting for and will be careful. But I will come out tomorrow.
“You know that this election is a dirty game. Sometimes, it is not the person you vote for that will win, Musa Ibrahim, a tricycle operator who plies the Kpansia-Tombia route. told The ICIR in Pidgin English.
Deborah Temerigha, a horticulturist along old Azikoro Road, also anticipates some form of violence at the polls but is banking on God for a peaceful process.
“Violence is what we don’t like. But I am coming out to vote. God knows how to give peace,” she said.
Gideon Ezekome, a trader at the Swali Market in Yenegoa, also told The ICIR that the possibility of election violence would not deter him from casting his vote.
Gideon Ezekome. Photo: The ICIR.
“The way things are now, everywhere is peaceful. I pray that with the security personnel I am seeing in this area, everything will go smoothly. But I will come out fully and cast my vote no matter what,” he said.
Women protest
Meanwhile, hundreds of women in the state gathered at the Police Headquarters, demanding peaceful elections for the second day in a row.
Some of the protesters who spoke to The ICIR said the protest was a call on the state Police Command to ensure a violent-free election.
“We want everywhere to be cool so we can vote well for our candidate. What we want is peace,” a protester, Janet John, said.
Although the Police dispersed the protesters with teargas, many of them remained by the roadside for hours.
“That we are protesting doesn’t mean that they should pour teargas on us. It is not good. We are not insulting anybody. We just want peace in all the eight local governments in Bayelsa. We have the right to say we want peace both in the counting of the ballot papers and no snatching of the ballot boxes. We want them to stop any person trying to make it violent.
Women protesters
We cannot go to the military because it is not their job, so we are taking it to the Police,” Ossai said.
The protesters also demanded the immediate removal of the state’s Commissioner of Police, Tolani Alausa, for more neutral operations of the command during the election.
Major contenders
The exercise has three major contenders, including the incumbent governor, Duoye Diri, vying for re-election under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Diri had served as Commissioner and legislator under both chambers of the National Assembly before becoming governor in 2019.
His emergence as governor followed the Supreme Court’s disqualification of the initial winner of the 2019 elections in Bayelsa, David Lyon, hours before his swearing-in ceremony.
The court ruled that Lyon’s running mate, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, forged certificates submitted to INEC, which nullified the joint ticket with which both candidates contested.
Following the ruling, Diri was sworn in as governor instead of Lyon.
Diri’s candidacy has been challenged in court following a suit stating that his running mate, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, had multiple names without any evidence the said names were all his.
Another major contender in the election is Timipre Silva, former governor and Nigeria’s immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, contesting under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In October 2023, Sylva was disqualified from participating in the 2023 governorship elections by the Federal High Court in Abuja because he had been sworn in as governor twice.
Sylva was governor of Bayelsa state from May 29, 2007, to April 15, 2008, and from May 27, 2008, to January 27, 2012, when a court sacked him.
At the time of his removal, he was being prosecuted for corruption by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), who seized 48 houses from him.
Sylva recovered the 48 houses in what was described as a controversial ruling by the courts a few days before the APC 2015 governorship primaries.
Sylva’s candidacy has also faced other threats, as his running mate Joshua MacIver has been involved in court cases based on allegations of his previous conviction for murder and terrorism in 2006.
He has recently come under fire for making inciting statements during campaigns in the Twon Brass area of the state, urging his supporters to attack opposition supporters.
“On the 11th, don’t joke with anybody. If anybody misbehaves in Twon Brass, chase them away into the sea so they can die. Did you hear? Chase him so he can die. After all, he won’t be the first person to die.
“This time around, when we take it (governorship), we are taking it for final,” he said in Pidgin, a corrupted form of English Language.
A third force in the Bayelsa governorship election is the Labour Party candidate Udengs Eradiri. He has served as Commissioner in the state and was the president of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) worldwide.
Two female contenders, no PWDs
Of the 16 candidates in the race, only two are females. They are Mercy Kamelayefa Ogege, contesting under the Action Peoples Party (APP), and Nengimonyo Oguara, under the Action Democratic Alliance (ADP).
Ogege is the president of the Ijaw Women of Substance Worldwide, while Oguara contested in the 2019 governorship election in the state.
Two women are also vying for the position of deputy governor, including Lilian Ladebi Okoya, under Action Alliance (AA), and Doibo, under the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
