- By Bukola Afeni
The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has called on political parties, candidates and supporters to exercise restraint while awaiting the collation of results and declaration of winners.
They urged presidential candidates to conduct themselves in line with the spirit and letters of the Peace Agreement which they endorsed.
The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room stated this is a press release jointly signed by the Convener of the group, Ene Obi,
the Co- conveners, Asma’u Joda, and James Ugochukwu.
The Situation Room commended Nigerians on their resilience and determination to vote and encouraged them to remain patient and peaceful as they await the collation of results and declaration of winners.
“We enjoin INEC to be consistent with the legal framework and guidelines for elections, to be transparent and credible in the collation of results. We urge INEC to take stock of polling units where the election did not take place and make them public. The Situation Room also advocated for more vigilance by the security agencies in the post-election period”, the group added.
The Situation Room observed that there was delayed deployment of election officials and materials across the country, leading to late commencement of accreditation and voting in more than 70 per cent of the polling units visited.
“In Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Rivers, and Kaduna states as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), there were significant delays in commencement of polls with several polling units opening as late as 11.30 am. In 13 states, some polling units did not open as at the official closing of polls by 2.30 pm.
“Delays in the opening of polls created a corresponding problem of late closing of polls in many places. Situation Room observers reported that less than 35 per cent of polling units visited closed by 2.30 pm. The late opening and closing of polls subjected the voters, many of whom arrived at the polling units very early in the morning, to unpleasant voting”, the body noted.
The Situation Room received reports of disruption of voting in some states, including Lagos, Enugu, Kogi, Delta, Edo, Bayelsa, Imo and Rivers states.
“These acts of violence reflected in snatching and destruction of ballot boxes and other election materials, use of violence to disperse voters, and thuggery. The Situation Room observers reported that there were tensions and violent incidents in 11 per cent of the polling units visited and that some of these incidents occurred in the presence of security personnel, who appeared unable or unwilling to intervene.
” In 84 per cent of the polling units visited, Situation Room observers reported the adequate presence of security personnel, yet the activities of hoodlums could not be contained. Unfortunately, a few journalists were also attacked by party supporters during these incidents. At least one journalist, Haruna Mohammed Salisu of WikkiTimes, was also taken into custody in one of these incidents in Bauchi State”.
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.