The Situation Room has expressed concern over reports of logistics challenges, failure of Smart Card Readers, incidents of vote buying as well as politically motivated killings in Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.
Clement Nwankwo, Convener of Situation Room, in a statement expressed disappointment about INEC’s logistical lapses on the elections, despite the one-week postponement of the polls.
The delay in commencement of voting, according to Nwankwo, could extend the collation process into the night, with attendant security risks and further logistics concerns.
“Several parts of the country report late opening of polls. According to YIAGA Africa, South East and South-South recorded the lowest number of early poll openings,” Nwankwo said.
He added that about 27 percent of polling units had opened as at 10 am in the South-East, while in the South-South, it was only 21 percent. Across other parts of the country, he said, the average was about 45 percent as at 10 am.
“The late arrival of materials and ad-hoc staff account for much of the delay in polls opening across the country. In some places, voting started around 11 am,” he noted.
Nwankwo also lamented what he called significant failure of Smart Card Readers in Imo, Lagos, Ogun, Abia, Nasarawa, Kebbi, FCT and Kaduna States.
He said the group received isolated reports of professional misconducts against security personnel in Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta and Kogi States.
He noted that some Polling Units had inadequate security personnel, adding however that while some Polling Units had just one police officer, others had up to 10.
On vote buying and politically motivated killings, he said: “The Situation Room has received reports of incidents of vote buying across Lagos, Niger, Edo, Kwara, Kano and Katsina States. The Situation Room calls on INEC and security agencies to nip this practise in the bud before it undermines the sanctity of the vote.”
He also highlighted the inadequacy of security personnel in some polling units, noting that “in some polling units there was only one police officer while in others, in addition to the prescribed three per polling unit, there were other security personnel totalling up to 10.”
The Situation Room also noted with concern the rising cases of violence and reported deaths in some states of the country. “At the time of this statement, Situation Room has received reports of about 16 deaths across eight states: Borno – 2, Bayelsa – 2, Rivers – 6, Yobe – 2, Kogi -2, Ebonyi – 2, Lagos – 1, and Zamfara – 1,” the statement said.
It added that in Lagos State, there were reports of disruption of voting by suspected political thugs who shot into the air in some places and set ballot boxes and papers on fire in others. “In the Okota, Isolo and Oshodi suburbs of Lagos, there are reports of violence, some caused by non-arrival of INEC officials and materials,” it said.
The Situation Room called on INEC and the security agencies to respond swiftly to these issues and arrest culprits “as promised by the Inspector General of Police”.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
