Issued: 12:00pm, Friday, 24th February 2023
With less than 24 hours before Nigeria’s presidential and National Assembly elections, the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room (Situation Room), presents the findings of a preliminary assessment of Nigeria’s pre-election environment ahead of the 2023 General Election.
In the final hours before the elections there are several reports of security challenges, acts of violence and political tension across the country, especially in the South East, North West and Lagos. In terms of readiness of the voting process, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released critical information regarding the number of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) collected, and countdown updates with movement of sensitive materials across the country.
Situation Room therefore notes the following:
Election Violence
On Thursday, 23rd February 2023, Nigerians received the shocking news of the assasination of the Senatorial candidate of the Labour Party for Enugu East Senatorial District, Mr Oyibo Chukwu, and five supporters, by unknown persons. Situation Room is worried that this attack could affect the political atmosphere in the State and increase tension in the South East region of the country.
By afternoon of the same day, the convoy of the Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party, (NNPP), Sen. Rabi’u Kwankwaso, and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Abba Yusuf, were attacked in Kofa town, Bebeji Local Government Area, Kano State. In Lagos State, the atmosphere remains tense, following violent incidents that broke out in parts of the State earlier this month.
With barely a few hours to the elections, fuel scarcity and bank queues remain, adding to the already tense atmosphere. The Situation Room recognizes that certain areas in Lagos State could potentially be hot spots as the elections progress.
In light of these, Situation Room finds it incumbent for security services especially the Nigeria Police within the State to prioritise creating a secure environment for citizens to exercise their franchise. Situation Room, strongly condems the killings and any acts of election violence and urges authorites to stem further violence to creating an enabling environment for peaceful, free and fair elections.
INEC Press Briefing
On Thursday, 23rd February 2023, during a press briefing, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, revealed at the National Collation Centre in Abuja that 87,209,007 PVCs, have been collected across the 36 States of Nigeria. A breakdown of the figure showed that Lagos leads in the number of collected PVCs with 6,214,970. This is closely followed by Kano State with 5,594,193, Kaduna State with 4,164,473 and Katsina State 3,459,945. The Commission has promised to provide daily briefing to update stakeholders as events unfold during this election period.
Movement of Sensitive Materials to LGA Nationwide
Situation Room has received reports from its field observers and other election observer networks indicating that INEC has begun the movement of sensitive materials from the state branches of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the Local Government Areas across the country. Reports indicate that 15 States: Lagos, Nasarawa, Osun, Bauchi, Cross River, Adamawa, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe, Imo, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Borno, Edo, Kebbi, have received all sensitive materials while others are in progress. We commend the progress made on the movement of sensitive materials and look forward to successful deployment across the country.
Conclusion
The Situation Room urges INEC to remain neutral during the election process. It is important that the Commission monitors the activities of its officials and ensure that they conduct the electoral process in a fair and credible manner.
It is critical that the Nigerian Police and other security agencies safeguard citizens, remain vigilant towards election violence, tackle vote buying and work together with stakeholders to ensure a safe and peaceful election.
Finally, the Situation Room reminds all citizens and political parties to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner and to discourage violence by their supporters. It is crucial that candidates and parties have a moral and legal obligation to abide by the Peace Agreement, as there will be consequences for reneging in the agreement in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.
The Situation Room remains committed to continue to provide assessment of the environment ahead of the 2023 General Election. Situation Room is closely watching and will keep receiving reports of incidence on our contact details:
Call/Whatsapp
09032999919, 08021812999, 09095050505.
E-mail: situationroom@placng.org
Social Media
Twitter/Instagram: @SituationRoomNg
Facebook: Situation Room Nigeria
Website: www.situationroom.org
Hashtag: #SR2023Elections
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SIGNED:
Ene Obi
Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room
Asma’u Joda
Co-Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room
James Ugochukwu
Co-Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room