The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has published a report on the 2024 governorship election in Edo State, Nigeria’s south-south region.
The off-cycle election, which took place on Saturday, saw Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) emerge victorious, as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday night.
According to INEC’s official declaration, Mr. Okpebholo secured 291,667 votes, surpassing his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 247,274 votes. Olumide Akpata, representing the Labour Party (LP), finished third with 22,763 votes.
In response to the results, the PDP and its candidate, Mr. Ighodalo, have expressed their intention to contest the election outcome in court.
The NBA, a professional body representing lawyers in Nigeria, deployed an election monitoring team across polling units in Edo State.
This initiative, led by NBA National President Afam Osigwe, aimed to assess compliance with electoral laws and regulations.
Bolatumi Animashaun, leader of the NBA’s election monitoring team, and Mobolaji Ojibara, NBA General Secretary, co-authored the report.
The report identified late arrival of election officials and materials as a major concern.
The NBA noted, “It was observed that these delays were caused by logistics challenges that hindered the smooth commencement of the voting process.”
In some cases, certain polling units were left without any INEC personnel or electoral materials.
The report cited a specific example: “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.”
The NBA also reported instances of vote buying, stating, “Several attempts were observed where political party agents discreetly tried to influence voters with monetary incentives.”
This observation aligns with findings from Yiaga Africa, another prominent election observation group, which also reported vote-buying incidents across various polling units and wards.
The report also highlighted voter apathy as a major issue.
The NBA observed that voter turnout was “notably low” compared to the number of registered voters. To illustrate this point, the report mentioned, “In polling Unit 10, Ward 4, out of 1,026 registered voters, only 10 were accredited.”
Despite these challenges, the NBA commended the resilience of voters, including physically challenged individuals who persevered through adverse weather conditions to cast their ballots.
The report also noted the effectiveness of the Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in most polling units, although some technical issues were reported.
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.”
The heavy deployment of security operatives was acknowledged as a positive measure that helped maintain order and mitigate potential security threats.
However, the NBA expressed concern over reported shootings in Oliha, Ward Two, which encompasses five polling units in the Egor Local Council Area.
Based on these observations, the NBA put forward several recommendations.
The association emphasized the need for INEC to prioritize timely deployment of election materials and personnel to avoid delays in future elections.
It also called for intensified voter education campaigns to rebuild public trust in the electoral process and encourage greater participation, especially among women and youth.
The NBA stressed the importance of implementing stronger measures to prevent vote buying, stating, “This includes stricter monitoring at polling units and more transparent processes to safeguard the integrity of the electoral system.”
