...Kudos, Knocks Trail INEC, Security Agencies’ Performance

Baba, who spoke while monitoring the elections in Abuja, said the polls were generally peaceful and “the response of the people has been encouraging. “

He added: “The provision of security is good. This is one of the best electoral processes I have ever seen. We have done well so far and we are waiting for INEC officials to move to the collation centre. We are on top of the situation.

“It is not true that there was a bomb blast in Maiduguri, we have blast in Borno State. We have made adequate security arrangements over there. We have five injured and small damages.”

Despite the commendation for INEC, logistic problems, which hindered the early arrival of electoral officials and materials to polling units, had raised their ugly head.

INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu acknowledged that there was a late arrival of electoral officials and materials in many polling units across the country.

He said, “The perennial problems of logistics and insecurity affected early deployment of voting materials. But we have been able to deliver millions of ballot papers.”

Speaking on Saturday, he said the commission had resolved the problem by ensuring that anyone that was in the queue by 2:30 p.m. was allowed to vote, “no matter how long it takes.”

He explained that the twin problems of logistics and insecurity hampered the timely deployment of staff and materials.

This directive by INEC to allow everybody on queue by 2.30 pm to vote led to extension of the voting exercise to late in the night and in some polling units, till Sunday morning.

Another issue about the election process is the complaints by voters in Lagos State over the omission of the Labour Party (LP) logo on some ballot papers in some polling units in the state. It was gathered that the affected ballot papers were meant for the Senate and House of Representatives candidates.

The omission forced many to call on INEC to provide answers based on the argument that the Labour Party logo appeared in previous elections. Speaking on the issue, a chieftain of the Labour Party, Prof Pat Utomi, said that his phone had been inundated with calls over the omission.

‘‘My phones are almost blowing up with angry voters who cannot see where to vote for Labour Party candidates for Senate. I have been appealing for calm but buoyed by people’s determination to vote LP all the way,’’ Pat Utomi wrote on his Twitter page.

THEWILL gathered that the omission may have been due to the inability of the party in the state to provide a list of its candidates to INEC.

It would be recalled that in September 2022, the Lagos State Chairman of the Labour Party, Olukayode Salako, revealed the reason behind the omission of their senatorial and House of Representatives candidates on the final list of candidates for the 2023 general elections by INEC.

Salako said the party’s candidates were omitted from the list because a former chairman of the party, Ifagbemi Awamaridi, did not submit them to INEC at the appropriate time.

Salako however noted that due to the fact that Awamaridi presented the names to INEC late when the window had closed, the party was considering the court option. It therefore suffices to say that the Labour Party (LP) did not get its way in court, reason its Senate and House of Representative candidates were omitted from the ballot papers in Lagos State

Pockets of Violence

Despite Police and other sister security agencies and the military expressing their readiness for the election, there were pockets of violence that rocked some parts of Lagos, Imo, Bayelsa, Edo, Kogi, and some other states in the country on election day.

Voting in places such as Mafoluku, Amuwo Odofin, Oshodi, Surulere, Ijaiye, Ijaniki, LASU Iba, Iyana Shashi, Ikorodu, Fadeyi, Ojota, Ogombo, Badagry, Sangotedo, and Lekki, all in Lagos State, was marred by violence. At Ijaiye, four polling units were affected, Branco (two), Agboola (one), and Obisanya (one). Polling units affected in Surulere included Adedeji, Owoseni, Dipo Olubi, Itire, and Aguda.

There were also reports of disruption of elections in polling units around Ikate, and Ajah after thugs allegedly attacked the area and warned the voters who were not willing to vote for the presidential candidate of the APC, Senator Bola Tinubu, to vacate the polling units.

Reports had it that a popular Nigerian rapper and son of Human Right activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, Falz, allegedly had his phone snatched from him by thugs who also snatched ballot boxes and dumped them in a gutter.

At Ogombo Primary School, in the Lekki area, thugs were said to have chased away voters and locked the gates while security personnel watched and did nothing. There were also reports of violence at Ago Palace Way, Okota, but the timely intervention of military personnel restored peace and orderliness in some of the affected polling units and they were able to complete the voting process late on Saturday.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, who flew over Lagos with a helicopter, confirmed the pockets of violence and said that several suspects were arrested for election-related offences and exhibits recovered from them. He did not disclose the names of the suspects and the party they were sympathetic to.

Owohunwa also confirmed that there were pockets of violence in Mafoluku in Oshodi, and Surulere, where armed thugs disrupted voting exercises and snatched and burnt ballot boxes.

The Lagos CP said the exercise was very peaceful and well organised in the Epe area. He said, “I interacted with them and they insisted that Epe was calm. They are a peaceful family, so regardless of the political divide, they remain one family and work to ensure peace.

“What we are dealing with here has to do with human conduct. It could be unpredictable or driven by passion, emotion, or criminal intent. We recorded specific instances of thuggery and violence.