-As security beefs up to forestall mayhem
Barely 24 hours to the governorship election in Bayelsa, Imo, Kogi states, there are fears that insecurity and loss of confidence in the electoral process might force eligible voters not to participate in the elections.
The elections which is going to be the first under the watch of President Bola Tinubu will see the Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State and his counterpart in Bayelsa State, Douye Diri seeking re-election, while Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State is rounding off his second term and is supporting the All Progressives Congress candidate, Usman Ododo, whom he anointed among the aspirants to win the party’s ticket.
Other leading candidates in Kogi are the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, Dino Melaye and the Social Democratic Party SDP, Yakubu Muritala.
The incumbent governor of Imo State and candidate of the All Progressives Congress APC, Hope Uzodinma; Senator Samuel Anyanwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Senator Athan Achonu of the Labour Party are the top contenders in the state.
In Bayelsa state, also the incumbent Governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, Douye Diri; the candidate of the APC in the state, Timipre Sylva and Labour Party, Udengs Eradiri will slug it out.
The breakdown for the three States indicates that out of 1,056,862 registered voters in Bayelsa State, 1,017,613 have collected their PVCs and 39, 249 are uncollected. In Imo State, the number of registered voters is 2,419,922 out of which 2,318,919 have collected their PVCs and 101,003 are uncollected, while in Kogi State, out of 1,932,654 registered voters, 1,833,160 have collected their PVCs and leaving 99,494 uncollected,” a statement by INEC National Commissioner, Sam Olumekun read.
Going by the number of PVCs collected so far in the three states, the number of voters expected to troop out tomorrow to cast their ballot is 5,169,692.
From antecedents at the last elections, about 20 per cent of Permanent Voters Card (PVC) holders participated. Findings suggest that this may further dip with widespread apprehension on security of lives, coupled with credibility concerns about the electoral process.
The tension already pervasive in Imo as a result of strike declared by Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC which had resulted in apprehension and a call for concern amidst the Saturday’s poll.
The leaders of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and their Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, counterparts, had declared an immediate and total strike in Imo State over attack on the NLC President, Joe AJaero, other labour leaders, among other issues.
In the communique to this effect, all flights into and out of Imo State, fuel supplies and electricity was stopped immediately. The communique was signed by NLC’s Deputy President and TUC President, Prince Adewale Adeyanju, and Festus Osifo, respectively.
Bayelsa and Kogi are not spared of security worries amid records of steady decline in elections.
At the last presidential election for instance, Bayelsa’s voter turnout dropped by 20 points from 36.4 per cent to 16.4 per cent, Kogi’s dropped by 9 points from 33.6 per cent to 24.6 per cent.
INEC had hinted that over 5.4 million Nigerians are on the voter register for the tomorrow’s Governorship Elections in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa states.
Imo is more of a peculiar case. Official records INEC show that the state registered about 2.42 million PVC holders for the 2023 general elections. Of the number, a total of 2, 318,919 persons collected PVCs, while 101,003 remain uncollected.
Following the wave of insecurity in the state, new findings have shown that the state may be left with just 600,000 eligible voters, out of which 300,000 (or 13 per cent of total PVC holders) may maximally vote
Already, the electoral umpire had declared no election in 38 polling units out of Imo state’s 4,758 polling units as a result of zero registered voters. As such, elections would be held in 4,720 other polling units of the state.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had also threatened in Yenagoa, at a stakeholders meeting any polling unit where violence occurs in the governorship elections, the votes won’t be counted by the electoral body.
Yakubu, represented by the INEC National Commissioner supervising Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers, Mrs May Agbamuche-Mbu, said that INEC would deploy BIVAS to all polling units for the election.
“I want to let you know that our BIVAS have been customized for INEC, so INEC details and the name of the parties are on the BIVAS, so any BIVAS you see without INEC details cannot be from INEC.
“Another thing, we have all the list of the serial number of the BIVAS we are going to use, the result sheets will be sign at the polling units.
“Where there is violence, it will be zero, we will not return to that polling unit to conduct election.”
In Bayelsa State, there are fears of voters’ apathy in Yenagoa, the state capital, as most residents appear to have lost interest in voting, especially going by what happened in the last governorship election in the state and the recent general elections.
There are also concerns that some might stay away out of fear of violence and threats by the two major political parties – PDP and APC in Nembe and Southern Ijaw Local Councils as political actors in the state deploy thugs and miscreants to scare away voters to enable them have the field to themselves.
Even recently, the PDP and APC had raised the alarm over attempts to scuttle the election through intimidation and violence. There have been attacks and killings in Opu-Nembe, and this will affect voter turnout tomorrow.
There have been pockets of election-related violence across the state, but not up to the scale witnessed in the previous election. Yet, the threat of violence would affect voter’s turnout and certainly the overall outcome of the poll.
Findings show that hot spots include Basambiri, Opu-Nembe, and other strongholds of the two main candidates and political parties, Governor Douye Diri of the PDP and former governor and immediate past minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva of APC.
Kogi is also not spared of its worries. Ahead of Saturday’s election, opposition parties, PDP, ADC and SDP have accused the ruling APC of tactics aimed at stifling the opposition and recruiting foreign thugs to disrupt the election. The parties objected to last week’s directive by the Kogi State Government to hotel owners in the state to reserve all hotel rooms in the 21 Local government areas of Kogi State from November 4th to 12th.
Claiming grave security implications, the opposition claimed to be in possession of reliable information that Governor Yahaya Bello intended to use the hotel rooms to accommodate imported militias, who will be used to create chaos at his command before and during the elections.
PDP candidate, Dino Melaye, at a press conference in Abuja said intelligence at the disposal of his campaign council suggested that the thugs would be brought into Kogi State from Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo States.
He further alleged that fake police and army uniforms have been given to the thugs so residents could not easily detect them.
Going by available records, the state’s electoral strength had dwindled in the last few elections. A research organisation, Dataphyte said in a recent report that in the past governorship elections, mainly the last three, the voter turnout has been consistently below 50 per cent, based on the percentage of the registered voters who cast their vote on the Election Day.
Nonetheless, INEC has said it is doing all in her powers to instill confidence in the electoral process by making the outcomes count and less stressful on the people.
It stated that 17 political parties will participate in the election in Imo state. It assured that the outcome of the exercise would be electronically transmitted, adding that it had deployed necessary facilities to ensure a hitch free exercise and urged residents to honour the exercise by voting on that day.
INEC further assured that with the level of security it had mobilised for the election in the state, “several lapses recorded in the previous elections will be corrected”.
In the wake of all these, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had assured Nigerians that the elections in the three states will be free, fair and credible.
While assuring voters that every single vote will count, the president ordered security agencies to ensure that there is no form of interference and manipulation in the conduct of the elections.
National Security Adviser (NSA), Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu, stated this when he met with the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, along with the Commission’s National Commissioners and other members of the inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security.
Present at the meeting were the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun; Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa and Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi.
Ribadu emphasised the importance of ensuring fairness and security in the upcoming elections, saying the polls would be better than previous elections.
Noting that the off-season elections is the first to be conducted under the present administration, the NSA said the President was ready to provide all necessary support to ensure that Nigerians have free and fair elections.
The NSA said: “Nothing is as important as a free and fair election in a democracy. That we can assure you; this government is ready to provide that. Mr. President has given his orders. He said he wants to see free, fair, credible elections.
“This is going to be the first election that is going to be under his watch. He said that we should take this message to INEC and to Nigerians that he is going to be very much available to support you to make sure Nigeria will have free and fair elections.
The military and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, have declared a battle against hoodlums who may be planning to snatch ballot boxes during the governorship elections in Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo states.
The security chiefs threatened to deal with troublemakers just as the police authorities said they had deployed 67,000 personnel in Kogi and Bayelsa states ahead of the polls.
Speaking on the security operations for the election, the General Officer Commanding, 6 Division, Nigerian Army/Land Component Commander, Joint Task Force, South-South, Operation Delta Safe, Maj Gen Jamal Abdussalam, warned anyone planning to snatch ballot boxes or cause trouble in the governorship poll to steer clear of the coastal state or face the consequences.
Abdussalam gave the directive while addressing troops and members of other security agencies during ‘Exercise Safe Conduct 2023’ in Bayelsa State on Monday.
This was contained in a statement by the acting Deputy Director, 6 Division Army Public Relations, Major Jonah Danjuma.
The GOC charged the troops to ensure the people of Bayelsa State came out in their numbers to vote for candidates of their choice without any fear of intimidation.
He stated, “We must ensure that everywhere is safe and people are able to see sufficiently that we are fully on the ground to boost public confidence in the electoral process.”
The GOC disclosed that troops had been adequately briefed on the code of conduct and rules of engagement for the elections, adding that they must conduct themselves in the most professional manner before, during, and after the poll.
He warned that no form of complacency would be tolerated at all levels, while calling on all the participating troops ‘’to close up on troublemakers during the election.’’
The army chief warned, “No stone would be left unturned to deal decisively with any individual or group, whose stock in trade is to cause mayhem or snatch ballot boxes during the elections.
“If the troublemakers feel they have two heads, they must be ready with the second head because the first head would surely be taken off.
“The era of snatching ballot boxes, stuffing them, and indeed any form of electoral violence are gone. “
Despite the war of words and skirmishes, the National Peace Commission, NPC on Wednesday had successfully organized a peace accord for the stakeholders in the three states. The body which is headed by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, he was represented by its Convener and Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah at Bayelsa ceremony
In Imo, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Frank Mba, who is in charge of the election in the state, and other senior security agents were present during the ceremony which had a huge presence of security agents.
Also, the national chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commissioner, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, represented by the national commissioner supervising Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers States, May Agbamuche-Mbu, enjoined the parties, their candidates and all stakeholders to be committed to a peaceful electoral process.
Speaking at the Kogi peace accord, Cardinal John Onayekan emphasised the need for a peaceful election, saying no meaningful development could take place in an atmosphere of chaos and insecurity.
