By Mabinty M. Kamara in Abuja
Preliminary analysis of the just concluded off-circle Governorship election in three states of Nigeria’s 36 states Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi states revealed a low voter turnout due to intimidations and fear of violence, widespread disinformation and Fake news, and voter inducement, among others.
Briefing the press on Saturday 11th of November at the close of polls in Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, the Centre for Democracy and Development’s election analyst Jack Jackson Ph.D. said their observers deployed across voting centres reported voting in 65% of polling units in Bayelsa where at a particular polling unit (PU) in 24 Ward 4 (Yenagoa) voting started as late as 11:37am and 80% of polling units observed in Imo started late, “well after the 8am commencement time. While this was different in Kogi, where the rate was 40%, there were still pockets of late polls commencing across the state. Of particular concern is the low voter turnout that we have noted in the various polling units we have observed”. He said, “in Oporoma, the headquarters of the Southern Ijaw LGA, INEC officials only arrived at 12:15pm, while in Ogbia LGA Ward 10 Unit 3, voting only commenced at 12:40pm.”
He added that the Observers at Comprehensive Secondary School Ward, Polling Unit 001, Orsu Local Government Area (LA), in Imo, reported that the Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials were not at the Polling unit, adding that the few voters who were present confirmed that many eligible voters were scared of coming out to vote due to fear of violence. “We are particularly concerned about the turnout rate and how this will affect future engagements between the citizens and elected officials,” he said.
In his statement, Jackson went on to note voter inducement across all three states, saying that their observers reported incidents in PU 1, Ward 8 and PU 11, Ward 1 in Sagbama LGA in Bayelsa West. “In Bayelsa Central, vote trading was reported in PU 16, Ward 6 in Yenegoa LGA, PU 22, and Ward 13 in Southern Ijaw LGA with reports of voter inducements ranging from 5,000 - 22,000 Naira including other items such as wrappers. In PU 30 and 31, Ward 13, along with money, rice was also shared to buy votes and we are concerned that there were allusions that it might be linked to the delayed flood and subsidy palliatives that state governments only started distributing two days ago,” he said.
He said the situation of vote buying was also the same in Kogi, where they reported vote buying in polling units 004, 038 and 039 in Ward A of Lokoja LGA, where party agents were allegedly sharing out money to voters upon confirmation that they voted for their party candidates.
“Both APC and PDP agents were reported to have engaged in vote buying, with 2000 to 3000 naira shared, at PU3 Mbutu Ward, Aboh Mbaise LGA and PU11, Civic Centre Ward, Mbaitoli LGA. There was also another incident in Olamaboro LGA, Ward 3 and Unit 12, with reports of vote buying by APC and PDP agents,” Jackson went on.
According to the report, similar trends were also observed in Imo, with incidents of vote buying in PU 11, Civic Centre Ward and PU 1, Umuodu Ward, both in Mbaitoli-Ezinihitte LGA.
In PU 7, Central School UmuNakanu Ehime LGA, there were reports that INEC ad-hoc staff were given monetary inducement by party officials. Based on observation, incidents of vote buying have so far been concentrated in Mbaitoli-Ezinihitte, Owerri West and Njaba LGAs. This is particularly interesting, because Mbaitoli-Ezinihitte and Owerri West LGAs have the highest number of collected PVCs amongst the LGAs in the state with 150,012 and 134, 192,”he said.
Speaking on irregularities, he said they happened in Ogori/Magongo LGA where there were pre-filled election result sheets in areas where voting had not even commenced. Concerns he said, were shared publicly and led to significant concern and disturbances in the states and on social media. “We are assured that INEC has cancelled voting in those areas and urge the commission to exercise the strongest punishment for those caught in this act”
Jackson highlighted that in Ward 11 and 12, Nembe LGA in Bayelsa, election materials were allegedly secretly hijacked to a different location and where agents were reportedly thumb printing for the All Progress Congress (APC) party.
Elections related violence remained a sore point in the election according to the observation group. “Electoral violence was reported in Dekini LGA, specifically in Agala Ogane PU, Anyigba town, a thug was reportedly shot and killed by military officials while fleeing in an attempt to snatch a ballot box. There was a similar attempt in Ganaja PU, Ajaokuta LGA where the LGA chair was apprehended by voters,” he said.
He added that in Yenagoa Local Government Area, observers reported that one person was shot at Famgbe community and, in PU 24 Ward, voting ended abruptly when thugs destroyed election materials at about 11:45am“We note that in these area polling units, there was little to no7 Ward 7, observers reported that there were no security agents as late as 10:19am, despite voting having started. Similarly, in PU 9 Ward 4, security officials only arrived at 11:10 am.”
15 candidates contested for the governorship in Bayelsa, 15 in Imo and 18 in Kogi state. The winner of each state will serve a period of four years.
Nigeria's General Elections were held on the 25th of February this year which saw Bola Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress (APC) the winner with a total of 8,794,726 votes, defeating his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 6,984,520 to emerge second. During the polls, 28 governorship elections were held while a few others took place in March. Off-Circle elections in Nigeria are mostly the outcomes of post-election court cases, which either removed governors or ordered new elections, months later.
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