Issued: 10:30am, Friday, 15th July 2022
The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (Situation Room) has convened in Osogbo, Osun State to observe the Osun State Governorship Election 2022. With more than 70 Civil Society Organizations represented in the Situation Room, Situation Room will work with its partners and networks to observe the election and receive reports from across the 30 Local Government Areas and 332 wards in the State. This will inform its observations and analysis of the Governorship election.
Just as in the 2018 Governorship Election, the Situation Room notes that the Osun State Governorship election will be the last major election before the general elections in 2023. This election will therefore be critical and a litmus test for INEC preparations as well as to gauge the recent gains made in our electoral process and the confidence that is being built. This also includes the conduct of the security agencies and other stakeholders particularly the political class.
Preliminary observations by the Situation Room indicates that voters across the State are highly motivated to come out and cast their votes. However, a lot of fear is being peddled around the election owing to incidents that occurred in the past governorship election that led to a re-rerun. Some of the utterances of the candidates have indicated that there are sentiments also being carried over from that election.
Situation Room is counting on the assurances of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigeria Police that they are fully prepared for the election; with INEC assuring that logistics and deployment are fully under its control and the Police assuring that it will keep the security situation under check.
1. INEC and Election Administration: Situation Room expects an improved administration and management of the 2022 Osun State Governorship Election especially in areas where gains were recorded in the recent Ekiti State Governorship election. Situation Room observed a relatively peaceful election, early opening of polls, the functionality of the BVAS in most of the polling units visited during the Ekiti State Governorship election and the quick upload of results on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal. The downside of the Ekiti State election was the high level of votes trading around the polling units with security personnel and INEC personnel turning a blind eye.
As in other elections, Situation Room’s observation of INEC’s administration of the process will be in the following areas:
i. Early distribution and deployment of personnel and materials
ii. Timely opening of poll
iii. Priority Voting and availability of assistive materials for persons with disabilities
iv. Knowledge of election procedures by INEC ad hoc staff
v. Voting procedures particularly the efficacy of the new Bi-modal Verification Accreditation System (BVAS)
vi. Transmission of polling units results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal
vii. Vote trading and
viii. Transparent Collation process
2. Security Agencies: Situation Room notes the police deployment of 21,000 personnel by the security agencies and calls on deployment to be made effective across the State, taking special cognisance of the security flash points, while adhering strictly to the rules of engagement. Situation Room notes the efforts of the Nigeria Police to setup a special unit on votes buying as announced by the Inspector General of Police. We further call on the Police to document evidence of violence, infractions and their perpetrators and share this information with INEC, in order to speedily bring offenders to book no matter how highly placed.
The Situation Room is hopeful that the entire security machinery will conduct themselves responsibly and adhere to civil and responsible terms of engagement under the rule of law. We call on the Security Agencies to be vigilant and apprehend offenders with regards to vote buying and not necessarily wait for election officials to point them out
3. Political Parties: We call on the political parties and their supporters to play by the rules and to support the conduct of a free, fair and credible election in Osun State. For the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Situation Room expects a level playing field where other parties and candidates are given access to State facilities. Candidates should uphold the spirit and contents of the Peace Accord and must note that there is a moral and legal obligation to abide by this agreement and there will be consequences in this regard, in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.
Conclusion: Situation Room calls on all stakeholders especially political parties to approach this election with responsibility and utmost respect of democratic standards. Eligible voters in Osun State are enjoined to come out tomorrow, Saturday, 16th July 2022 and effectively participate in the process of electing a leader of their choice for the State.
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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
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The Situation Room is made up of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working in support of credible and transparent elections in Nigeria numbering more than seventy. The Steering Committee is made up of: Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), CLEEN Foundation, Action Aid Nigeria, Centre for Women and Adolescent Empowerment, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), African Centre for Entrepreneurship and Information Development (ACEIDEV), Justice Development and Peace Commission (JPDC) Nnewi, ASPILOS Foundation, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Mac-Jim Foundation, Kimpact Development Initiative, Democratic Action Group (DAG), Women’s Rights to Education Programme, EDO CSOs, Young Innovators and Vocational Training Initiative (YVITI), New Initiative for Social Development (NISD). Other groups are Centre LSD, CISLAC, WARD-C, Proactive Gender Initiative (PGI), Enough is Enough Nigeria, WANGONET, JDPC, YIAGA Africa, Development Dynamics, Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN), Stakeholder Democracy Network, Human Rights Monitor, Reclaim Naija, CITAD, Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution (CHRCR,) Nigerian Women Trust Fund, The Albino Foundation, Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE), Electoral Hub etc
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