After months of anxiety, Nigerians, yesterday, turned out en masse to elect a new set of leaders to steer affairs of the country, particularly the President and the Federal lawmakers. Though there were complaints of delayed start of voting exercise, non-functional Biomodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and pockets of violence in parts of the country, major stakeholders in the election described the process as peaceful while commending the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
After months of anxiety, Nigerians, yesterday, turned out en masse to elect a new set of leaders to steer affairs of the country, particularly the President and the Federal lawmakers.
When asked if he will accept defeat in the event that the outcome of the election did not favour him, he said, “I attended Town Hall meetings and campaigns than other candidates. I will win.” “Winning election is a responsibility. It is not an easy thing because it is a burden. It is a burden because you are going to hold the people’s trust and if God wants you to carry the burden, you will,” he said.
He stated this after casting his votes at his Tandu 1 Polling Unit of Kano State, noting that the massive turnout of his home supporters without much presence of security is an indication that the Kano people are lovers of peace. In another development, INEC announced the extension to today , voting period for the Presidential and National Assembly Elections in polling units in Cross River State where election did not take place. These include polling units and wards in Bakassi Local Council; and Dayspring 1 & 2, Qua Island.
He said: “The BVAS accreditation system deployed nationwide for the first time has been functioning optimally in most parts of the country and we hear actually less and less of complaints about the functionality of the BVAS. Yes, there may be complaints here and there, but generally speaking, we were able to deliver hundreds of millions of ballot papers and sheets that were supposed to be delivered for the election. Another contributing factor to the late opening of the polling units is actually the perennial insecurity in the country.”
The statement, signed by the chairperson of the CDD-EAC centre, Professor Adele Jinadu, said across the country, almost 50 per cent of INEC poll officials arrived on time for the commencement of the process. It, however, said theIt said: “In the South East, only 10 per cent of poll officials arrived their respective polling units on time and in the South South, it was 27 per cent.
It said: “There have been some reports of violence and voter suppression in some parts of the country. We have asked our observers in the field to gather more information about these issues. On the whole, we commend Nigerians on their participation and peaceful conduct so far, although we note growing reports of voters frustrated by the speed of the voting process.
She said: “States where polls opened around 8.30 am include Bauchi, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Gombe and Jigawa. However, in Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, Rivers, Kaduna and FCT, there were significant delays in commencement of polls, with many polling units yet to open as at 11.30 am. According to the Convener, the body is concerned about the tendency to use violence to intimidate opposition and suppress voters, as was observed in Kogi and Rivers states.
“The Situation Room urges INEC to take note of the observed challenges and implement swift measures to ensure that all eligible voters are given opportunity to vote and that the voting process proceeds without further delays. The group noted that in the South West, there were several reports of voting materials malfunctioning and party agents disrupting elections.
Big Brother Naija host, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu told The Guardian that, for instance, the largest polling unit in Eti-Osa with over 1200 registered voters had just three adhoc staff, which reduced the pace of the voting exercise. Late arrival of staff of INEC and election materials almost marred voting process in Ifako-Ijaiye local council, Ojodu-Berger and some parts of Ogba, as accreditation and voting did not commence until around 10:30 am and 11:00 am.
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