The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has released its findings on the 2024 governorship election in Edo State, south-south Nigeria.
The election
The off-cycle governorship election was held on Saturday.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Sunday night, declared Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the poll.
INEC announced that Mr Okpebholo polled 291,667 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Asue Ighodalo, who scored 247, 274 votes.
The candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Olumide Akpata, came third with 22,763 votes.
Meanwhile, the PDP and its candidate, Mr Ighodalo, have rejected the election outcome and indicated interest in challenging the declaration in court.
NBA report
The NBA, a professional association of lawyers in Nigeria, announced the group’s observations during Saturday’s election in a report.
The report was jointly signed by Bolatumi Animashaun, the leader of NBA’s election monitoring team, and Mobolaji Ojibara, the general secretary.
The report was released after the election, although the exact date is unknown.
It said the NBA National President, Afam Osigwe, deployed the group’s election monitoring team across polling units during the election in the state.
According to the report, this was done to observe the extent to which all participants complied with the electoral laws and regulations.
Late arrival of officials, materials
In the report, the NBA said its monitoring team observed that voting materials and officials arrived late in many polling units, particularly within Benin City, Edo State capital.
“It was observed that these delays were caused by logistics challenges that hindered the smooth commencement of the voting process,” it said.
The association also said they observed that in a few polling units, neither INEC personnel nor electoral materials were deployed.
“In Egor Ward I, Polling Unit 30, for instance, there were no election materials or INEC officials at all, effectively preventing any voting activity from taking place in this polling unit,” it stated.
“This lack of preparedness in certain areas is a serious issue that needs to be addressed to ensure elections run smoothly.”
Vote buying
The NBA said there were instances of vote buying at polling units.
“Several attempts were observed where political party agents discreetly tried to influence voters with monetary incentives,” the report said.
It expressed worry that despite efforts to prevent it, money has continued to influence fairness and transparency in Nigeria’s elections.
The observation corroborates a report by a prominent election observation group, Yiaga Africa, that there were incidents of vote buying in different polling units and wards in the state on Saturday.
Voters apathy
The NBA also stated that there was voter apathy in the election, explaining that the number of voters who turned out at polling units during the election was “notably low”, considering the number of registered voters.
“In polling Unit 10, Ward 4, out of 1,026 registered voters, only 10 were accredited,” it said.
The report, however, noted that some physically challenged persons defied the odds to cast their votes.
It added that physically challenged persons and other voters showed resilience by voting despite heavy rainfall in some areas.
BVAS malfunction
The NBA also said that although the Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices functioned effectively in most polling units, they recorded technical hitches in some areas.
“For instance, in Ward 7, Polling Unit 18, Ugbekw LGA, an ad hoc official of INEC reported that the BVAS device displayed the message ‘No Election Ongoing’ despite the voting process being in progress already,” it said.
Other observations
The NBA said it equally observed that heavy deployment of security operatives during the election helped in “maintaining order and ensuring that potential security threats were mitigated.”
The group, however, regretted that there were shootings in Oliha, Ward Two, which hosts five polling units in the Egor Local Council Area.
It added that further observations showed that the number of male voters exceeded that of female voters.
What can be done
The NBA suggested that INEC prioritise the timely deployment of election materials and personnel to avoid delays in subsequent polls.
The group also said there was a need for “intensified” voter education campaigns to restore public trust in the electoral process and encourage greater voter participation, especially among women and youth.
It stressed that stronger measures must be implemented to prevent political parties from using money to influence voters.
“This includes stricter monitoring at polling units and more transparent processes to safeguard the integrity of the electoral system,” it stated.
[Premium Times]
