THE Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR) said it observed widespread vote buying during the Edo State governorship election held on Saturday, September 21.
In a statement signed by the NCSSR conveners, Yunusa Ya’u, Mimidoo Achakpa, and Franklin Oloniju, and sent to The ICIR, the group said despite the huge presence of security personnel, observers reported widespread instances of vote buying and selling across several polling units.
It stated that the price of votes ranged from ₦5,000 to ₦10,000 per voter in several locations, including PU 08 and 09 Ward 2, Owan-East Local Government Area (LGA); PU 02 Ward 2, Etsako-West LGA; and several polling units in Egor, Oredo and Owan-West LGAs.
According to NCSSR, in some cases, voters were also induced with foods, including bread.
Speaking on the prompt arrival of INEC officers at polling units and the exercise commencing as scheduled, the NCSSR said it observed officials arrived on time in 50 per cent of the polling units (PUs) and polls opened at the regular hour of 8:30 am in only 48.4 per cent of the polling units visited.
“We note some isolated locations where officials arrived as early as 7:00 am, particularly Maria Goretti Girls Secondary School in Ward 6, Ikpoba Okha LGA, and PU 29 in Ward 7 of Esan-West LGA. However, in many other locations, poll officials and materials had not arrived as of 9:00 am. For example, polling units 7 and 8 Eweka Secondary School, Ward 10, Egor LGA were among those affected.
“Furthermore, at the Super Registration Area Centre (Super RAC) in Ogbe Primary School, Oredo LGA, poll officials and materials had not left the Super RAC as of 9:00 am as observers reported that many ad-hoc staff refused to sleep over at the RAC due to fears of possible attacks.
“We note that some polling units in locations such as Egor, Oredo, Ikpoba Okha, Etsako-West, Owan-West, and Esan Central LGAs experienced widespread delays due to the heavy rainfall in these locations,” the group stated.
On security, the group reported that security personnel were present and on time in 92 per cent of the polling units visited.
It stated that the security agents’ conduct has been largely professional and without any reported incidents of intimidation.
However, despite their presence, NCSSR noted widespread instances of vote buying, carried out openly in many voting locations. it, however, acknowledges the arrest of the alleged two vote traders in George Idah primary school, Ward 2, Oredo LGA.
The group reported that the accreditation process was conducted using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), with the device functioning well in 98 per cent of polling units visited.
However, it was observed that some isolated cases of BVAS failure were reported, including at PU 6, Ward 10, Esan-West LGA.
The group said party agents were observed in most polling units, with the following distributions: APC: 41; Labour Party: 13; PDP: 25; PRP: 5 per cent, respectively. Other parties that fielded candidates in the exercise had less than five of their agents represented, the observers stated.
The group noted that the election environment was further charged by the spread of fake news, which it said contributed to confusion among voters and heightened tension at several polling locations.
It added that according to the report of Situation Room’s member organisation – Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD West Africa), there were three major fake news, propagated on the eve of the election, largely affecting the three major political parties.
The Situation Room in its interim conclusion on the election commended the peaceful conduct of voters throughout the process and urged them to maintain the peace.
The group said it would continue to observe developments as they unfold and provide a comprehensive report after the polls.
The Situation Room is made up of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working in support of credible elections and governance in Nigeria numbering more than 70.
Its steering committee is made up of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), CLEEN Foundation, Action Aid Nigeria, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa), YIAGA Africa, TAF Africa, Emma Ezeazu Centre for Good Governance and Accountability (formerly Alliance for Credible Elections and Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC).
Others are Kimpact Development Initiative, Democratic Action Group (DAG), Women’s Rights to Education Programme, Joint National Association of Persons with Disability (JONAPWD), DIG Ebonyi, New Initiative for Social Development (NISD), Life And Peace Development Organization (LAPDO), Rural Youth Initiative, Challenged Parenthood Initiative (CPI), Centre for Health and Development in Africa (CHEDA) and Josemaria Escriva Foundation.
The ICIR reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has uploaded over 90 per cent of the poll’s results on its result viewing portal (IReV)
The election results were being collated at the state headquarters office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Benin City on Sunday when filing this report.
A reporter with the ICIR
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