International civil society organization ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) has released its initial report following its observation of the Presidential and National Assembly elections held across the country on Saturday. The report indicates that AAN deployed 510 observers from a trained pool of 650 to various states, including Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Rivers, Jigawa, Kaduna, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Niger, Delta, Ekiti, Kwara, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe. To streamline data processing from the field, ActionAid established a technical room that contributed processed information to the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room.
The observations highlighted several issues, including the late arrival of INEC staff and election materials at polling units. In some cases, polling stations opened as late as 11:30 AM, such as in Rivers State’s Ward 17 under Obio/Akpor LGA, and at Okumagba II in Warri South, where polling began at 2:30 PM. Additionally, there were instances where INEC staff arrived at polling units with sensitive materials but without security personnel. The report also noted unsealed election materials, including some already thumb-printed ballot papers, particularly at LEA Primary School in Saburi, a suburb of DeiDei in the FCT.
Some polling units continued voting until the early morning of Sunday, the 26th, which raised concerns about disenfranchising voters, especially women, due to late-night voting. This situation was evident in locations such as Gwarinpa Estate 2, Tipper Garage polling unit, SunnyVale Estate, and Lugbe Ako, all in the FCT. The late-night voting could lead to fatigue and stress among INEC officials, potentially resulting in irreversible errors during the voting, sorting, and counting processes. Furthermore, the extension of voting hours contributed to delays in uploading results on the INEC portal, and the security of INEC staff, voters, and election materials may have been compromised.
The report also documented incidents of disruption and violence in Dekina LGA, Kogi State, and Ikpanya Ward in Ibio Ibom LGA of Akwa Ibom, where thugs disrupted and destroyed electoral materials. In Lagos, ballot boxes in two polling units in Mafoluku by the Ijaiye area were reportedly burned, and some INEC ad-hoc staff were assaulted for alleged involvement in electoral offenses, leading to further disruptions in polling units in places like Abakpa, Enugu State, and Lugbe in the FCT.
ActionAid commended INEC for extending the Presidential and Senate elections by one day in certain locations facing voting challenges. The organization urged that this extension be applied to more areas across Nigeria where voting commenced late and where registered voters had yet to cast their ballots. Nevertheless, ActionAid called on INEC to critically assess the challenges encountered during the elections to prevent a recurrence in the upcoming state elections. It also emphasized the need for transparency regarding locations where elections would continue or be combined with gubernatorial elections.
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