Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room Deploys Over 4,000 Observers For Edo Election 

… As Conveners Commends INEC For Making Plans To Mitigate Rainfall 

By Philip Tayo 

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The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has deployed a total of 4,000 election and citizens observers across the 18 local government areas, 192 Registration Areas and 4,519 polling units of Edo State ahead of Saturday’s Governorship Election in the State.

The three leading Conveners for the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room for the Edo State Governorship Election holding tomorrow Saturday, Y Z. Ya’u, Mimidoo Achakpa and Franklin Oloniju have all commended the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC for making plans to mitigate rainfall or flooding during the election. 

The three Conveners while addressing reporters on Friday revealed that it has deployed a total of 4,000 trained accredited and citizen observers to follow up the conduct of the election, the activities of the INEC, the conduct of its ad-hoc staff, security agencies, political parties, voters, and other key stakeholders. 

According to them, they urged the INEC to ensure the Edo State Governorship election is conducted in full compliance with the Electoral Act, INEC guidelines, and all relevant laws that guarantee a free, fair, peaceful and credible process.

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The Conveners explained that the Situation Room has engaged the stakeholders’ which include civic groups, INEC, Political Parties, Security agencies, traditional rulers and religious institutions in the buildup to the election. 

However, the Situation Room during the press briefing acknowledged the tensed atmosphere which has enveloped the State, leading up to the Edo election. 

They also pointed out, that there have been reports of potential infractions, allegations of security agencies’ bias and fears of violence, heightening the public anxiety.

The NCSSR counselled the INEC to ensure the timely opening of polling units and the punctuality of election ad-hoc staff, thereby avoiding any form of delay in opening of polling units which can undermine the credibility of the process and disenfranchises voters. 

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INEC must ensure vehicles and personnel are adequately briefed on their routes to avoid delays. INEC should ensure that materials already deployed to the RACs and super RACs are secured and redeployed to the polling units’ on time. 

On the issue of BVAS, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the Converners advised the Country’s electoral umpire to put it proper shape to ensure it function optimally based on the report conducted from mock test.

Adding, they stated that INEC must ensure that the trained personnel are readily available to handle technical issues swiftly, ensuring that voters are not disenfranchised due to faulty equipments. 

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Due to the commitment made by the INEC REC of Edo State at the Situation Room Meeting with him, where he assured the NCSSR that INEC will develop and deploy a contingency plan in the event of heavy rainfall on election day. They however reminded INEC not to forget communicating plan to the voting community and relevant stakeholders with a view to ensure suitable mechanisms are put in place to address adverse effect of flooding during the election.

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