Politics
Electoral Violence: South-East Stakeholders Demand Adherence To Electoral Act
Some political stakeholders in the South-East have reiterated that effective implementation of the Electoral Act would assist in check-mating electoral violence in the 2023 general elections in the country.
The stakeholders made the call while reacting to a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) survey on checkmating Electoral Violence ahead of the 2023 General Elections in the country.
Nelson Nwafor, the Executive Director of Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD) in Abia, said that electoral violence was a “serious threat” to the achievement of sustainable democracy in Nigeria.
According to him, the menace has become detrimental to democratic sustainability in Nigerian politics and required swift action toward addressing the issue.
Mr Nwafor said that politicians and the electorate were jointly responsible for the continued occurrence of electoral violence recorded during electioneering periods.
He commended the federal government for the Electoral Act (2022), adding that it would play a vital role in guiding the conduct of the politicians and electorate during the elections.
He charged political parties to ensure that the campaigns of their candidates were issue-based to enable them to build a work plan that would facilitate delivery of democracy dividend to the citizenry.
Mr Nwafor called on relevant agencies to conduct regular sensitisation campaigns on the need for the electorate to be law abiding during the electioneering period.
A teacher, Kingsley Kalu, said he had vowed never to participate in the country’s general elections again because of his experience in 2019.
He said that he almost lost his life while working as an adhoc staff to the Independent National Electoral Commission, as thugs invaded the venue in an attempt to snatch the ballot box.
“If not for the intervention of the police, I would have died as these boys came, descended on me and my colleagues in one of the remote communities in the state during the House of Assembly election,” he said.
He expressed hope in the new Electoral Act, saying that it would curb electoral violence because there would be no snatching of ballot boxes.
In Ebonyi, some analysts have advised politicians across states of the federation to focus on issue based campaigns that could bring development to the nation and desist from causing violence.
They decried the way thuggery had brought a lot of conflicts in the Nigeria political system including ethnicity, religion and tribalism amongst others.
Thamos Ikenna, a lawyer, noted that the issue of thuggery during campaigns and elections started as a result of bad governance. “Failure of political leaders to do the needful in providing gainful employment for the teeming population of youths.
“The youths remained the instruments used by politicians to perpetrate these violent crimes in the country. “These violence are being caused as a result of bad governance, unemployment, poverty, bribery and corruption amongst others,” Mr Ikenna said.
Monday Nkwoagu, Bishop of Anglican Communion, Diocese of Abakaliki, condemned the incessant killings and violence so far experienced in the country ahead of the 2023 general polls.
Mr Nkwoagu tasked politicians on peaceful campaigns and added that violence was not a strategy to win elections.
Also speaking, Professor Benard Odoh, 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Ebonyi, said that a peaceful campaign could bring security of lives and property for the people.
“It is better to campaign on issues rather than concentrating on destruction of campaign materials and all sorts of violence,” he advised. Mr Odoh stressed the need to implement laws and strengthen them against thuggery and political violence in the country.
He called on youths in particular and colleagues in various political parties to steer clear of the act and focus on issues that could bring development to the state and nation at large.
“Elections should not be seen as war against persons,” Mr Odoh added.
In Anambra, politicians contesting positions during the 2023 general elections are yet to begin campaigns, apparently because only state and national elections would be conducted in the state.
A check by our source showed that most of the candidates were still doing consultations, a month after the Electoral Act as amended had okayed commencement of campaigns for the 2023 elections.
Chukwuma Agufugo, state secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said the party was yet to inaugurate its state chapter of the campaign council.
He said that political activities were still low because the state was not holding a governorship election, but only national and state assembly elections.
“For now, I can say that we are not hearing anything about thuggery and violence and we believe that such problems usually take place towards the end of campaign period,” he said.
Paul-Chuks Umenduka, an Awka-based politician, said the state might not witness incidences of violence during the ongoing political process.
According to Mr Umenduka, my feeling is that most people are enlightened and might not be tricked into political violence as before.
“I see a paradigm shift in the cases of political thuggery and violence in next year’s elections because of two reasons.
“Most Nigerians are aware that the electronic transmission of results from the polling units will make nonsense of snatching of ballot boxes.
“Again the common knowledge among most citizens now that those engaged for thuggery and other dirty political jobs by politicians are now aware of the consequences of engaging in such practices,” he said.
Mr Umenduka, who said that his position was informed by some preliminary findings made in his Aguata area, added that most youths now decline invitations for membership of pressure groups.
He said, before now, the pressure groups formed ahead of every dispensation often turned into recruiting windows for thugs.
He however, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, the media, civil society organisations to intensify enlightenment on the danger of thuggery and violence during elections.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has begun deploying non-sensitive materials to the zones as it prepares for the 2027 general election.
Acting Chairman of the commission, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, disclosed this in Abuja, yesterday at a bench-marking meeting with a delegation of Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
“Right now, all non-sensitive materials are almost ready. In fact, today as we speak here, the non-sensitive materials have been lifted to some zones now,” Gumus said.
She said the commission had completed nine of its scheduled activities and was preparing for the next phase.
“We are preparing for the election next year and we have activities lined up. So far, we have been able to complete nine activities and we are still preparing for the next level of activities,” she said.
Gumus said the commission’s leadership had just concluded a tour of the country’s six zones to assess their level of preparedness.
“The purpose was to go round the zones to see how prepared we are, assess what the zones have put in place, their challenges and what to do. We concluded last week and we can see from our tour that we are really going towards the election proper,” she said.
On Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), the acting chairman said production had been completed and distribution to the states was well advanced.
“As of today, we can say that PVCs have been produced and the first, second batches, most of the states have received them. Their PVC collection is ongoing. All those who are supposed to be the voters are supposed to receive their PVCs, and if they don’t have them, it is also another challenge,” Gumus said.
She added that capacity building was under way for staff at the headquarters and in the states, and that the procurement and deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System BVAS devices were also ongoing.
On diaspora voting, Gumus said the commission could not proceed for now because the law did not provide for it.
“Here, because we go by the law, in our electoral law, it is not included there, so we cannot go on for the diaspora voting for now until we amend the electoral law,” she said.
The acting chairman said the commission had arranged for its directors to hold an interactive session with the Kenyan team and present papers on the work of their departments.
Leading the delegation, the Kenyan High Commissioner to Nigeria, Isaac Parashina, said the IEBC team was in Nigeria to benchmark ahead of Kenya’s general election in August 2027.
He said the team was studying how Nigeria handled its diaspora population and special voting groups, as Kenya sought to widen voting rights for citizens living abroad.
“Currently we have about 12 of them who voted in the last general election, but there is intention to expand to around, I think, 26,” Parashina said, referring to the countries where Kenyans abroad vote.
He said the expansion was a constitutional requirement backed by Kenyan court rulings, and would be enforced progressively.
Parashina said Nigeria’s election, which he noted would come in two rounds, would be closely watched across Africa.
“Everyone is looking at what Nigeria will do because it is the biggest democracy in Africa. The success of Nigeria remains a great success to Kenya and indeed to the continent,” he added.
The High Commissioner thanked INEC for receiving the team despite a tight schedule and wished the commission success.
Governor Douye Diri has set a target of at least one million votes for President Bola Tinubu in Bayelsa State in the 2027 presidential election, while charging the newly inaugurated All Progressives Congress (APC) State Campaign Council to prioritise reconciliation, party unity and collective electoral mobilisation.
Governor Diri gave the charge at the inauguration of the 20-member campaign council at the APC secretariat in Yenagoa, where he warned that internal divisions could undermine the party’s efforts to secure victory for President Tinubu and other candidates at the federal and state levels.
Governor Diri urged party members who were not appointed to the council to support its activities by taking the APC’s message to communities, wards and polling units across the state.
He specifically charged the campaign team to mobilise at least one million votes for President Tinubu, arguing that Bayelsa’s voting strength had increased and should be reflected in the 2027 election results.
“I give you a target that in Bayelsa, we must not bring less than one million votes for Mr President. You are going to campaign, and you have a lot to talk about the President. He has done so much for our people,” the governor said.
He listed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the second phase of the Nembe-Brass Road, interventions in the power sector, federal appointments for Bayelsa indigenes and the establishment of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy among the achievements the campaign should present to voters.
The governor particularly praised President Tinubu for the coastal highway project, arguing that it reflected federal attention to the development needs of coastal communities.
“No president, alive or dead, has remembered the coastal people and coastal states to say let us do this signature project from Lagos to Calabar. The first president to think about it is Bola Tinubu, and those were the demands of the Ijaw people,” he said.
Governor Diri also expressed hope that a second term for President Tinubu would provide an opportunity to advance demands for fiscal federalism, greater resource control and state policing, which he described as longstanding aspirations of the Niger Delta.
He said the President had shown indications of addressing some of the demands of younger Nigerians and argued that re-election would allow the administration to consolidate its reforms.
The governor further cautioned campaigners against personal attacks and abusive exchanges with political opponents, insisting that the APC should focus its campaign on issues, policies and achievements.
The governor’s mobilisation directive comes amid criticism from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has questioned his commitment to President Tinubu’s re-election campaign, alleging that APC campaign billboards erected across Yenagoa promote other party candidates without featuring the President.
The PDP, through its Publicity Secretary, Mr Ikaebimo Mark, said the billboards showed Governor Diri urging voters to support APC candidates for the National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections without identifying President Tinubu as the party’s presidential candidate.
Mr Mark described the omission as an indication that the governor was not fully aligned with the APC’s national leadership.
“When we said that the governor, Senator Douye Diri, is not supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we knew exactly what we were saying. Now Governor Douye Diri has erected APC campaign billboards across Bayelsa State without Tinubu’s picture. He is even afraid to associate himself with the photograph of the presidential candidate of his own party. How can this governor claim to be supporting President Tinubu?” he said.
The PDP, however, maintained that the governor’s public campaign posture raised questions about his commitment to the President’s re-election bid. Its allegation over the billboards now places the issue of the relationship between the state APC leadership and the party’s national campaign among the political questions likely to feature in Bayelsa’s preparations for 2027.
The PDP’s allegation has introduced a fresh political dimension to the APC’s preparations in Bayelsa, even as Governor Diri publicly called on party leaders and members to close ranks and mobilise support for all its candidates.
“Every person picked as a member of this campaign council was carefully scrutinised. I want to tell you that our campaign team is loaded. We parade the best candidates among all the parties in Bayelsa State, and there is no doubt about that,” he said.
He urged members to remain focused and united, warning that political opponents could exploit any divisions within the party.
“Our unity is very important because they would want to feast on our disunity. We will not give them that opportunity. Please, as you carry out this assignment, do not take your eyes off the target,” Hon. Ogoriba said.
SP Edafe explained that during the meeting, the organisers were briefed on the identified security threats and advised against embarking on an open-road procession.
Instead, the police reportedly recommended that the political activities be conducted at a designated venue where adequate security arrangements could be provided.
However, the Command alleged that the organisers disregarded the security advice and proceeded with the road procession.
Meanwhile, the Delta State Government has condemned the political violence that erupted in Asaba, the state capital, on Saturday, confirming that one person was killed while four others sustained serious injuries.
The government described the incident as unfortunate and unacceptable, warning political parties and their supporters against actions capable of threatening public peace, security and democratic participation in the state.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, the government reiterated its zero tolerance for political violence, intimidation and other forms of political misconduct.
Mr Aniagwu said the government had repeatedly cautioned political parties against engaging in activities capable of disrupting the peace, insisting that the incident could have been avoided if the organisers had followed security advice.
According to him, the police had advised the organisers to cancel the proposed street march and instead conduct their political campaign at a designated venue where adequate security arrangements could be provided.
He expressed concern that the advice was allegedly disregarded, resulting in a confrontation that claimed one life and left four other people seriously injured.
The government subsequently called on the police to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the violence and ensure that anyone found culpable is brought to justice.
Mr Aniagwu further warned that the state government would not tolerate politically motivated attacks against any individual, regardless of political affiliation.
He maintained that Delta State remained safe for residents and visitors, stressing that the government would not allow the actions of individuals or groups to undermine the prevailing peace and security in the state.
The government also urged political parties, their leaders and supporters to conduct their political activities within the confines of the law and demonstrate respect for human life, public order and the rights of other citizens.
The latest development follows an attack on supporters of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) during a political procession in Asaba, which reportedly left several participants injured and campaign vehicles vandalised.
The government’s condemnation comes amid growing concerns over political violence and the safety of opposition supporters as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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