A coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR), said it observed massive voter inducement at polling units (PUs) in the September 21 governorship election in Edo State.
This was disclosed in a statement co-signed by Yunusa Z. Ya’u, Mimidoo Achakpa and Franklin Oloniju, while commended the peaceful conduct of voters and urged them to remain calm throughout the process.
The group also stated that Situation Room observers reported widespread instances of blatant vote buying and selling across several polling units, despite the huge presence of security personnel.
It reveals further that the “Price of votes ranged from ₦5,000 to ₦10,000 per voter in several locations, including PU08 and 09 Ward 2, Owan-East LGA; PU 02 Ward 2, Etsako-West LGA; and several polling units in Egor, Oredo and Owan-West LGAs. In some cases, voters were also induced with food items such as bread”.
They, however, acknowledged the arrest of the alleged two vote traders in George Idah Primary School, Ward 2, Oredo Local Government Area.
The Situation Room was made up of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) that had Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), CLEEN Foundation, Action Aid Nigeria, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa), YIAGA Africa, and TAF Africa.
Others are Emma Ezeazu Centre for Good Governance and Accountability (formerly Alliance for Credible Elections), Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Kimpact Development Initiative, Democratic Action Group (DAG), and Women’s Rights to Education Programme.
There were also Joint National Association of Persons with Disability (JONAPWD), DIG Ebonyi, New Initiative for Social Development (NISD), Life And Peace Development Organization (LAPDO), Rural Youth Initiative, Challenged Parenthood Initiative (CPI), Centre for Health and Development in Africa (CHEDA) and Josemaria Escriva Foundation.
