After a postponement that raised comments, controversies form many quarters, elections into the gubernatorial office of Edo state was finally held on 28th September 2016. The election was contested by 19 candidates of which Osaige Ize-Iyamu of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressive Congress, APC, rose prominent.
The elections brought with it intrigues, anxiety and of course, some ridiculous moment. Identified below are 5 things wrong with the conduct of the Edo elections
1. Akara campaign
Stomach infrastructure started in 2014. The rice strategy of campaign efficiently used by Governor Ayodele Fayose to gain support of the people of Ekiti in the 2014 governorship election and later widely adopted in Nigeria seems to have faded away with a viable replacement. The replacement shot up some days ago in Edo state with the APC Akara Spot. The spot is a meeting point for party supporters to discuss election issues, watering the discussions down with balls of Akara. Could this be another form of democratic dividends delivery?
2. Terrorist on voters’ register
Do you remember Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab? The Nigerian who was jailed in United States for terrorism offences in 2012. He was in the news 2 days ago, barely 24 hours to Edo elections. News Agency Of Nigeria (NAN) report that, Governor Adams Oshiomhole drew attention to the existence of Abdulmuttalab’s portrait in a fake voters register now in circulation. Real or original, the INEC should have rid the voters’ register of such electorate.
3. Naira rain
The money inducement for votes once again came into play in Nigerian politics. Various sources monitoring the election says agents of political parties were seen inducing electorates with cash of Naira worth N1000, N2000, N3000 and more. In units 1,2,3,4,5,6; ward 4 of Ikpoba Okha Local Government in Edo state, agents of APC were reported to have thrown bundles of money in the air in what could be described as a cash-free-for-all. Worse still, the two major actors; APC and PDP denied knowledge of the sharings. Who then is sharing money? Ghosts?
4. Card reader failure
A device that has been used for up to 3 elections is expected to function well if not perfectly. However, the INEC card reader did not fail in shaming the commission once again as it was reported in some wards that the machine refused to accredit voters. The failure of card readers means that incidence forms will be used in lieu. This will not only bring back the cost of which the card reader was procured but also increase the stress and time of conducting an election.
5. All journalist are equal, but some are equal than others
The satire of George Orwell came into play yesterday when INEC officials barred journalists from print and online newspapers from entering INEC collation centre in Benin. In a report by The Cable, journalists, who converged on the Ipoba Hill headquarters of INEC in Benin, were ushered out of one of the main halls at about 8:30pm. The only ones allowed access were journalist from television stations. All animals are equal but in Edo, Nigeria, some are equal than others.
The elections brought with it intrigues, anxiety and of course, some ridiculous moment. Identified below are 5 things wrong with the conduct of the Edo elections
1. Akara campaign
Stomach infrastructure started in 2014. The rice strategy of campaign efficiently used by Governor Ayodele Fayose to gain support of the people of Ekiti in the 2014 governorship election and later widely adopted in Nigeria seems to have faded away with a viable replacement. The replacement shot up some days ago in Edo state with the APC Akara Spot. The spot is a meeting point for party supporters to discuss election issues, watering the discussions down with balls of Akara. Could this be another form of democratic dividends delivery?
2. Terrorist on voters’ register
Do you remember Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab? The Nigerian who was jailed in United States for terrorism offences in 2012. He was in the news 2 days ago, barely 24 hours to Edo elections. News Agency Of Nigeria (NAN) report that, Governor Adams Oshiomhole drew attention to the existence of Abdulmuttalab’s portrait in a fake voters register now in circulation. Real or original, the INEC should have rid the voters’ register of such electorate.
3. Naira rain
The money inducement for votes once again came into play in Nigerian politics. Various sources monitoring the election says agents of political parties were seen inducing electorates with cash of Naira worth N1000, N2000, N3000 and more. In units 1,2,3,4,5,6; ward 4 of Ikpoba Okha Local Government in Edo state, agents of APC were reported to have thrown bundles of money in the air in what could be described as a cash-free-for-all. Worse still, the two major actors; APC and PDP denied knowledge of the sharings. Who then is sharing money? Ghosts?
4. Card reader failure
A device that has been used for up to 3 elections is expected to function well if not perfectly. However, the INEC card reader did not fail in shaming the commission once again as it was reported in some wards that the machine refused to accredit voters. The failure of card readers means that incidence forms will be used in lieu. This will not only bring back the cost of which the card reader was procured but also increase the stress and time of conducting an election.
5. All journalist are equal, but some are equal than others
The satire of George Orwell came into play yesterday when INEC officials barred journalists from print and online newspapers from entering INEC collation centre in Benin. In a report by The Cable, journalists, who converged on the Ipoba Hill headquarters of INEC in Benin, were ushered out of one of the main halls at about 8:30pm. The only ones allowed access were journalist from television stations. All animals are equal but in Edo, Nigeria, some are equal than others.
